Vegetation of Southern Africa

Rating:
Summary: An important benchmark publication on southern Africa
Review: South Africa has a remarkable floral diversity but has also been endowed with dedicated scientists in the fields of plant ecology and vegetation science. The book, 'Vegetation of Southern Africa' is dedicated to John Acocks whose seminal work 'The Veld Types of South Africa' formed the basis and inspiration for much of what has followed in the realm of vegetation classification in South Africa for many years. It is a fitting tribute that this book should be dedicated to the memory of John Acocks.

The book is well introduced with a complimentary foreword but more importantly a concise and informative general preface. The preface gives the reader a good idea of the aims, scope and setting of the book which is divided into three parts, forming a logical progression from one part to the next. Part 1 comprises four chapters on landscape evolution, climate, biogeography and vegetation palaeohistory which 'set the scene' and provide the reader with a framework for appreciating present vegetation patterns and processes. The second and principal part of the book consists of 10 chapters which describe the major vegetation units found in southern Africa. The treatment follows the classification of the vegetation into seven biomes and three units at the non-biome-scale. Part 3 of the book includes eight chapters on cross-biome topics such as conservation, fire, alien plant invasions and so on. The editors considered these topics to be of global interest and this approach positions the book well to capture the interest of a global audience rather than restricting its appeal to local enthusiasts.

The palaeohistory of southern Africa is fascinating and the two chapters dealing with the evolution of landscapes and vegetation history transport one back in time to the 'Jurassic Park' that southern Africa once was as the land was moulded and the dynasties of different floras rose and fell. These chapters encourage one to look with new eyes at the complex landscapes that make up southern Africa and to consider the 'unseen' floras which lie buried from our view. The chapter by R.E. Schulze deals with climate in a more contemporary sense and its link to the present flora of the country. It contains valuable information but it is a great disappointment that the climate maps are published in monochrome! Publication of these maps in colour would have greatly enhanced the chapter since maps such as Figure 2.6 (and others) show little definition between the three darkest units -- the colour hues are too close!

The overarching chapter presented on the phytogeogeography of southern Africa is an essential prerequisite to the contents of the following chapters. It gives the reader a clear perspective of the floral diversity by broadly analysing the phytogeography in terms of ecological, historical and phylogenetic factors, while focusing more specifically on patterns and correlates of species-level endemism. The analysis of the 'age' of different endemic species following Cronk's scheme, however superficial, is to my knowledge the first time this classification has been applied to southern African endemic taxa. This greatly assists in providing and evolutionary time-frame for the extant subcontinental flora.

Part 2 of the book starts with a chapter categorizing the biomes of the African subcontinent. It could be argued that this chapter should have been included in the introductory Part 1. Nevertheless it serves the purpose well of providing a foundation for the descriptive chapters on the different biomes and biome-scale units recognized. A large research effort was undertaken from the mid-1970's to the late 1980's and the immense amount of knowledge gained during this period is highlighted in the chapters presented here. The specific intention of achieving some uniformity of treatment of the biomes is useful for comparative purposes. The approach has, however, also been adequately flexible to allow for the special aspects of each biome to be exposed, e.g. the lichen fields of the desert of the intriguing reproductive biology of some plants in the fynbos and succulent karoo. The approach has thus been thorough and comprehensive and a valuable aspect of all the chapters in this section has been the identification of gaps in existing knowledge. There are numerous recommendations for future research to answer pressing questions. One gains a sense of urgency that these questions need answering soon to foster sustainable utilization of southern Africa's vegetation resources, from the grasslands of the interior to the kelp beds on the continental shelf and from the desert to alpine ecosystems of the high mountains.

In the third part of the book eight chapters are presented with topical ecological themes. They range from the theory of species diversity to the impacts of abiotic factors such as fire and the impacts of human utilization and alien biota on the natural vegetation. The introductory preamble to the section once again gives a helpful summary of the contents of the following chapters that highlight many intriguing facets which may be seen as being linked in the colourful fabric of vegetation on southern African landscapes. It is appropriate that the book should end with a chapter on conservation and South Africa can be justifiably proud of work accomplished in this arena. However, as we draw closer to the end of the millenium we need to take stock of the natural resources in southern Africa. 'Vegetation of Southern Africa' is well timed as it provides a good critique of the state of affairs and will serve as a valuable benchmark publication for future work.

To conclude some general points require mention. The layout of the book in three sections is applaudable and assists the reader in the use of the book. The volume is well indexed and the short glossary is also useful, particularly for readers not familiar with many colloquial southern African terms. There are nevertheless some disappointing aspects. In a book on the vegetation of such a colourful country it is regrettable that there are no colour reproductions of photographs of plant communities, plant species and maps! It is clear that many of the black-and-white reproductions were produced from colour diapositives. Although this is not a 'coffee-table book' I am convinced that some colour would have greatly enhanced its appeal and value; for instance the impact of Figure 22.8 is completely lost due to the lack of colour. There is also a good deal of inconsistency in the layout of captions resulting in a waste of space. In some instances the captions are crammed into single columns whereas in others they are liberally spread across the width of the page. The small point but bold font used for the captions is also not appropriate. These unsuitable editorial points do not detract from an otherwise outstanding publication.