Plant Diversity of the Iwokrama Forest, Guyana

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Plant Diversity of the Iwokrama Forest, Guyana presents the results of floristic research conducted as part of the collection of baseline data for this 360,000 hectare area in central Guyana, an area that has been set aside for rainforest conservation and sustainable development. This work provides insight into the plant diversity of a pristine and previously undocumented lowland rainforest of the Guiana Shield. Extensive field work was carried out to make the plant collections that provide the basis for this flora and are detailed along with discussion of ecology and habitats, regional context, and comparison with four other recent floristic works of areas of comparable size on and adjacent to the Guiana Shield in northeastern South America.

Appendices present lists of identified specimens, specialists that provided determinations for the various families, a synonymized checklist of the 1251 species of plants known from Iwokrama combined with those of the four other recent florulas, and a ranking of species diversity by family for these five areas. The combined checklist of 4659 species indicates that there is considerable floristic heterogeneity among even adjacent sites and will prove useful to botanists, conservation biologists, ecologists, and planners working in northeastern South America.