Download Plants and trees in the Guiana Shield

Plants and trees in the
Guiana Shield
Setting the scene of the
Workshop
Introduction by Dominiek Plouvier, Consultant
Setting the scene
I. Definition of the Guiana Shield, Amazon
biome, Neotropics
II. The Kingdom of Plants: Taxonomic overview
Evolution of plants and orders/families,
number of plants wordwide and region
III. Trees in the Guiana Shield
IV. Objectives of the workshop
I. Guiana Shield
• Large part of the Amazon biome (not Amazon
bassin) including parts of Brazil, Venezuela,
Colombia and the Guianas – see GSF website
• 40% of the Amazon biome, some 250 million
hectares
• Most intact stretch of tropical forest
worldwide
• Pre-cambrium plate, 1,8 billion years old
Guiana Shield, Guianas, Plateaux des
Guianes
• ONFI REDD+ program Guianas : Guyana,
Suriname, French Guiana and Amapa ….only
11-12 % of the Amazon biome: +/- 65 Million
hectares
• Flora of the Guianas : only the 3 Guianas
• Checklist of the Plants of the Guiana Shield by
Funk et alii, 2007, Smithsonian: only Guianas
and the 3 provinces of Venezuelan Amazon
II. Kingdom : Plantae
• Bryophytae, Pteridophytae, Spermatophytae
(some Floras treat also algae, fungi, lichens)
• Trees in Spermatophytae or Seed Plants :
– Gymnospermae = Conifers and others
– Angiospermae = Flowering Plants
• Dicotyledonae : Families Fabaceae, Asteraceae,
Rubiaceae, Rosaceae, Apocynaceae
• Monocotyledonae : Families Arecaceae, Poaceae,
Cyperaceae, Orchidaceae, Bromeliaceae
Evolution of plants
• Siluur : 350 million yrs ago…….. First
Pteridophytes or ferns
• Carboon –Trias : Gymnosperms, later conifers
• Jura – Cretaceaous : 140 million yrs ago
Angiosperms
• 90% of plants now anno 2015 ….not that old
• APG III – Angiosperm Phylogeny
Group……revise taxonomy based on phylogeny
Total numbers of land plants worldwide
• Bryophytes : mosses, etc…. +/-20,000 species
• Pteridophytes : ferns, etc… +/-12,000 species
• Seed plants between 250-300,000 species
– Conifers and alikes : a mere 1000 species
– Angiosperms : >90% of total land plants
• Dicots : +/- 200,000 species
• Monocots : +/- 50,000 species
Most important plant families worldwide
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Asteraceae or Compositae (daisy family): 22,750 sp;
Orchidaceae (orchid family): 21,950;
Fabaceae or Leguminosae (bean family): 19,400;
Rubiaceae (coffee family): 13,150;
Poaceae or Gramineae (grass family): 10,035;
Lamiaceae or Labiatae (mint family): 7,175;
Euphorbiaceae (spurge family): 5,735;
Melastomataceae (melastome family): 5,005;
Myrtaceae (myrtle family): 4,625;
Apocynaceae (dogbane family): 4,555;
How many plant species in the GS
• Tropical America home to 30% of all flowering
plant species (Angiosperms): +/- 80,000 sp
• Between 10,000 and 20,000 plant species in
the Guianas and Amapa, of which 40%
endemic to the region
• Trees (+/- 2800 species) maximum 25% of all
plants in the Guianas
III. Trees……..?
• Trees, shrubs, climbers, vines, herbs, grasses,
palms, epifytes, parasites, stranglers, aquatic
plants : many plant forms
• A tree is a perennial plant with an elongated
stem, or trunk, supporting branches and leaves in
most species.
• A tree is a woody plant with secondary growth,
through annual growth through cambium and
with lignin in the cells
• Palms, bananas, bamboos, papaya- no trees ss
• Trees occur in different plant families
Oldest, tallest, largest
• Oldest tree in the world : Pinus sp in USA, some
4750 years old. Old trees in the Amazon/Guianas,
400-600 years maximum
• Highest tree in the world : 82 metres, Seqouia
tree in California. High trees in the Guianas: 30-35
metres, some individuals up to 50-60 metres
• Biggest tree : Sequoia, more than 10 metres
diameter. Big trees in Guianas generally not more
than 2 meteres above butresses. Exemples :
Ceiba, Couratari, Cedrelinga, Parkia sp., etc.
Trees in the Guianas
• Lots of different species of trees per hectareheterogenous forest
• Trees not very tall, not very big
• Large number of heavy timber trees (more
than 700kg/M3) in comparison to tropical
forests in Asia and Africa, or even worse,
temperate or boreal forests
• Oak (700kg/M3), Pine (400-500kg/M3)
Important trees Guianas
• Important families, genera, and species
• See next presentations….
IV. Objectives of the workshop
• Generate a clear overview of existing resources and
capacities for recognizing and collecting data on tree
species in the Guiana Shield region (Guyana, Suriname,
French Guiana, Amapá).
• Identify knowledge gaps and suggest tools and
activities that would be useful for improving tree
species identification and reporting in the Guiana
Shield.
• Create a network of experts on tree species in the
Guiana Shield and bring them together to share
knowledge and explore possible future collaboration
beyond the project's scope and lifetime
Results sofar (in the folder)
• Draft consultant report with state of the art
knowledge in 4 Territories (to be improved)
• Draft list of literature and websites important
for tree identification in the Guiana Shield
• Draft list of all trees (accepted Latin names) in
the 4 Territories
• Preparation of the Tonka workshop materials,
logistics, etc.
THANK YOU !!!!