Biodiversity Research in the Horn of Africa Region

About this book

26 papers from an August, 1999 symposium entitled 'Flora of the Horn of Africa and its relation to adjacent Floras' - the 3rd Symposium on the Flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea, held at the Carlsberg Academy, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Most of the papers are focused on botanical issues. They include:

Taxonomic case studies on Callitrichaceae, Portulacaceae, Asteraceae and Pedaliaceae and a review of the orchid flora;
Historical reviews of the progress of the Flora project and the study of the plants of Ethiopia and Eritrea since the 18th Century;
New contributions to the flora of Southern Yemen, emphasizing the relationship between the floras of both sides of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden;
Analyses of data from the hitherto published volumes of the Flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea, pointing out centres of diversity and endemism of the region;
The phytogeography of recently treated families, e.g. Cyperaceae, Commelinaceae, lilioid geophytes ("Liliiflorae"), and the genus Alo# (Aloaceae);
Analyses of diversity and endemism in the birds of the region that show interesting parallels with patterns found in plants;
A study of Ethiopian homegardens pointing out the importance of these for conservation of traditionally grown species and cultivars; there are close relations between the cultivated flora and the indigenous species, especially in the forest region of southwestern Ethiopia
A detailed study of the relationship between cultivated and wild enset (Ensete ventricosa; Musaceae), an important food plant in southern Ethiopia.
A review of plant materials used in traditional Ethiopian handicrafts shows a wide variety of species used, but many traditional materials are now being replaced with synthetic materials.
Three papers deal with vegetation, one with degraded bushland of the Adwa region in northern Ethiopia, another with the vegetation of the high Semien Mountains in north-central Ethiopia, and one with the Sudanian dry forests, woodlands and wooded grasslands of the lowlands in western Ethiopia. A study deals with the seeds of grasses in the soil seed banks of the same area.
A review paper points out that many features on the vegetation maps hitherto published for Ethiopia and Eritrea do not agree, particularly with regard to the vegetation on the Ethiopian Highlands

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