William Hawthorne - Böcker

The rain forests of West Africa have been designated as one of the world's hotspots of biodiversity. They extend from Ghana to Senegal and are referred to as the Upper Guinean forests. Because of their isolated position, they harbour a large number of rare and endemic animal and plant species.This book focuses on the biodiversity and ecology of these forests. It analyses the factors that give rise to biodiversity and structure tropical plant communities. It also includes an atlas with ecological profiles of rare plant species and large timber species.

An important prerequisite for successful conservation is a good understanding of what we seek to conserve. Nowhere is this more the case than in the fight to protect plant biodiversity, which is threatened by human activity in many regions worldwide. This book is written in the belief that tools that enable more people to understand biodiversity can not only aid protection efforts but also contribute to rural livelihoods. Among the most important of those tools is the field guide.Plant Identification provides potential authors of field guides with practical advice about all aspects of producing user-friendly guides which help to identify plants for the purposes of conservation, sustainable use, participatory monitoring or greater appreciation of biodiversity. The book draws on both scientific and participatory processes, supported by the experience of contributors from across the tropics. It presents a core process for producing a field guide, setting out key steps, options and techniques available to the authors of a guide and, through illustration, helps authors choose methods and media appropriate to their context.