A historical review of vegetation classification in Madagascar reveals that the classical map and "phytogeographic" territories of Perrier de la Bâthie and Humbert are largely a subjective reflection of climatological factors, and do not adequately reflect fundamental biogeographic patterns. Delimitation of phytochoria based on the distribution patterns of taxa provides an objective framework for comparing and mapping vegetation types using a simple physiognomic classification. The application of this approach in Madagascar would make it possible to test the validity of the classical divisions and circumscribe alternative ones, and to determine the current extent of natural and anthropogenic formations (principally secondary grasslands, often called "prairies", "pseudosteppes", etc., which cover about three quarters of the country). Before the arrival of man, the original woody vegetation types in the drier west (forest, woodland, bushland, etc.) were in a fragile equilibrium and could quickly have been converted to secondary grassland by fires; in the moister center more active human intervention (clearing) was likely required to alter the vegetation. Contrary to recent claims, native grasslands were not widespread immediately prior to the arrival of humans, but were probably restricted to small patches. Today, human impacts can be seen in all Malagasy vegetation types, even supposedly undisturbed "native" forest. ... [Information of the supplier]
This site provides general information on the vascular flora of the island Réunion, including data on taxonomy, systematics, nomenclature, status, distributions, vernacular names and some other aspects. The present version of the Index, freely available on the web, is based on the Version 2007.1 (updated 12 June 2007) of the Index, comprising 9025 nomenclatural entries (botanical names), including 3953 taxonomic entities (representing 3953 taxa). ... [Information of the supplier, translated and modified]
In 2011 the Federation des Conservatoires Botaniques Nationaux launched an ambitious collaborative project involving eleven national botanical conservatories of France. The project aims to establish a formal procedure and standardized system for data hosting, aggregation and publication for four areas: flora, fungi, vegetation and habitats. In 2014, the first phase of the project led to the development of the national flora dataset: SIFlore. As it includes about 21 million records of flora occurrences, this is currently the most comprehensive dataset on the distribution of vascular plants (Tracheophyta) in the French territory. SIFlore contains information for about 15'454 plant taxa occurrences (indigenous and alien taxa) in metropolitan France and Reunion Island, from 1545 until 2014. The data records were originally collated from inventories, checklists, literature and herbarium records. ... In order to present our results, a geoportal was developed by the Fédération des conservatoires botaniques nationaux that allows the SIFlore dataset to be publically viewed. As the FCBN belongs to the Information System for Nature and Landscapes’ (SINP), a governmental program, the dataset is also accessible through the websites of the National Inventory of Natural Heritage (http://www.inpn.fr) and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (http://www.gbif.fr). (from Just et al., PhytoKeys 56 (2015): 47–60, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 FR) ... [Miscellaneous as indicated]