380
Views
5
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Original Articles

Woody plant species diversity of the coastal forests of Kenya: filling in knowledge gaps in a biodiversity hotspot

ORCID Icon, ORCID Icon, ORCID Icon, , , ORCID Icon, ORCID Icon, ORCID Icon, ORCID Icon, & ORCID Icon show all
Pages 973-982 | Received 20 Jul 2020, Accepted 05 Oct 2020, Published online: 03 Nov 2020

References

  • African Plant Database (version 3.4.0). 2018. Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques de la Ville de Genève. Pretoria (ZA): Geneva, CH and South African National Biodiversity Institute. [accessed 2018 August 16]. https://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/recherche.php/.
  • Ahrends A, Rahbek C, Bulling MT, Burgess ND, Platts PJ, Lovett JC, Kindemba VW, Owen N, Sallu AN, Marshall AR, Mhoro BE, et al. 2011. Conservation and the botanist effect. Biol Conserv. 144(1):131–140.
  • Arrhenius O. 1921. Species and area. J Ecol. 9(1):95–99.
  • Bache SM, Wickham H. 2014. magrittr: a forward-pipe operator for R. R package version 1.5. [accessed 2020 June 9]. https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=magrittr.
  • Báldi A. 2008. Habitat heterogeneity overrides the species-area relationship. J Biogeography. 35(4):675–681.
  • Beentje HJ. 1994. Kenya trees, shrubs and lianas. Nairobi (Kenya): National Museums of Kenya.
  • Bruelheide H, Dengler J, Jiménez‐Alfaro B, Purschke O, Hennekens SM, Chytrý M, Pillar VD, Jansen F, Kattge J, Sandel B, et al. 2019. sPlot: a new tool for global vegetation analyses. J Veg Sci. 30(2):161–186.
  • Bull JW, Gordon A, Law EA, Suttle KB, Milner-Gulland EJ. 2014. Importance of baseline specification in evaluating conservation interventions and achieving no net loss of biodiversity. Conserv Biol. 28(3):799–809.
  • Burgess ND, Balmford A, Cordeiro NJ, Fjeldså J, Küper W, Rahbek C, Sanderson EW, Scharlemann JPW, Sommer JH, Williams PH. 2007. Correlations among species distributions, human density and human infrastructure across the high biodiversity tropical mountains of Africa. Biol Conserv. 134(2):164–177.
  • Burgess ND, Clarke GP, editors. 2000. The coastal forests of Eastern Africa. Cambridge (UK): IUCN Publications Services Unit.
  • Burgess ND, Clarke GP, Rodgers WA. 1998. Coastal forests of Eastern Africa: status, endemism patterns and their potential causes. Biol J Linnean Soc. 64(3):337–367.
  • Chiarucci A, Bacaro G, Filibeck G, Landi S, Maccherini S, Scoppola A. 2012. Scale dependence of plant species richness in a network of protected areas. Biodivers Conserv. 21 (2):503–516.
  • Chiarucci A, Bacaro G, Scheiner SM. 2011. Old and new challenges in using species diversity for assessing biodiversity. Philos Trans R Soc Biol Sci. 366(1576):2426–2437.
  • Chiarucci A, Piovesan G. 2020. Need for a global map of forest naturalness for a sustainable future. Conservation Biology. 34(2):368–372.
  • Cincotta RP, Wisnewski J, Engelman R. 2000. Human population in the biodiversity hotspots. Nature. 404(6781):990–992.
  • Collen B, Ram M, Zamin T, McRae L. 2008. The tropical biodiversity data gap: addressing disparity in global monitoring. Trop Conserv Sci. 1(2):75–88.
  • Connor EF, McCoy ED. 1979. The Statistics and Biology of the Species-Area Relationship. Am Nat. 113(6):791–833.
  • Corlett RT. 2016. Plant diversity in a changing world: status, trends, and conservation needs. Plant Divers. 38(1):10–16.
  • Craven D, Knight TM, Barton KE, Bialic-Murphy L, Chase JM. 2019. Dissecting macroecological and macroevolutionary patterns of forest biodiversity across the Hawaiian archipelago. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 116(33):16436–16441.
  • Crist TO, Veech JA, Gering JC, Summerville KS. 2003. Partitioning species diversity across landscapes and regions: a hierarchical analysis of a, b and c diversity. Am Nat. 162 (6):734–774.
  • Dengler J, Matthews TJ, Steinbauer MJ, Wolfrum S, Boch S, Chiarucci A, Conradi T, Dembicz I, Marcenò C, García-Mijangos I, et al. 2020. Species–area relationships in continuous vegetation: evidence from Palaearctic grasslands. J Biogeogr. 47(1):72–86.
  • Edwards WM. 2007. A biodiversity evaluation of Kenya’s coastal forest systems. Master’s degree research. Canterbury (UK): Durrel Institute of Conservation and Ecology, University of Kent.
  • FAO and UNEP. 2020. The state of the world’s forests 2020. Forests, biodiversity and people. Rome (Italy): FAO Publications.
  • Fungomeli M, Githitho A, Frascaroli F, Chidzinga S, Cianciaruso M, Chiarucci A. 2020. A new vegetation-plot database for the Coastal forests of Kenya. VCS. 1:103–109.
  • Githitho AN. 2016. Listing the sacred Mijikenda kaya forests as UNESCO world heritage sites: the long journey. J Africanistes. 86:198–217.
  • Gleason HA. 1922. On the relation between species and area. Ecology. 3(2):158–162.
  • Glover J, Robinson P, Henderson JP. 1954. Provisional maps of the reliability of annual rainfall in East Africa. Q J Meteorol Soc. 80:607.
  • Habel JC, Casanova ICC, Zamora C, Teucher M, Hornetz B, Shauri H, Mulwa RK, Lens L. 2017. East African coastal forest under pressure. Biodivers Conserv. 26(11):2751–2758.
  • Hannus JJ, Numers MV. 2008. Vascular plant species richness in relation to habitat diversity and island area in the Finnish Archipelago. J Biogeogr. 35(6):1077–1086.
  • Harte J, Smith AB, Storch D. 2009. Biodiversity scales from plots to biomes with a universal species-area curve. Ecol Lett. 12(8):789–797.
  • Hanski I, Triantis K. 2015. Habitat fragmentation and species richness. J Biogeogr. 42(5):989–993.
  • Hawn CL, Herrmann JD, Griffin SR, Haddad NM. 2018. Connectivity increases trophic subsidies in fragmented landscapes. Ecol Lett. 21(11):1620–1628.
  • Hill JK, Gray MA, Khen CV, Benedick S, Tawatao N, Hamer KC. 2011. Ecological impacts of tropical forest fragmentation: how consistent are patterns in species richness and nestedness? Phil Trans R Soc B. 366(1582):3265–3276.
  • Hobohm C, Janišová M, Steinbauer M, Landi S, Field R, Vanderplank S, Beierkuhnlein C, Grytnes JA, Vetaas OR, Fidelis A, et al. 2019. Global endemics-area relationships of vascular plants. Perspect Ecol Conserv. 17(2):41–49.
  • Kenya Forest Research Institute. 2016. A field guide to valuable trees and shrubs of Kaya Mudzimuvya forest in Kilifi County, Kenya. Nairobi (Kenya): Kenya Forest Research Institute.
  • Kibet S. 2011. Plant communities, species diversity, richness, and regeneration of a traditionally managed coastal forest, Kenya. For Ecol Manage. 261(6):949–957.
  • Küper W, Sommer JH, Lovett JC, Barthlott W. 2006. Deficiency in African plant distribution data – missing pieces of the puzzle. Bot J Linnean Soc. 150(3):355–368.
  • Lehmann I, Kioko E. 2005. Lepidoptera diversity, floristic composition and structure of three Kaya forests on the South coast of Kenya. J East Afr Nat Hist. 94 (1):121–163.2.0.CO;2]
  • Lomolino MV. 2001. The species-area relationship: new challenges for an old pattern. Prog Phys Geogr. 25(1):1–21.
  • Lovett JC. 1998. Eastern tropical African centre of endemism: a candidate for world heritage status. J East Afr Nat Hist. 87(1):359–366.2.0.CO;2]
  • Lovett JC. 2008. Biogeography and ecology of the rain forests of Eastern Africa. Cambridge (UK): Cambridge University Press.
  • Luke WRQ. 2005. Annotated check-list of the plants of the Shimba Hills, Kwale District, Kenya. J East Afr Nat Hist. 94 (1):5–120.2.0.CO;2]
  • Luke WRQ, Githitho AN. 2016. Biodiversity and the Kaya forests. In: Hoorweg J, Muthiga N, editors. Recent advances in coastal ecology: studies from Kenya. Leiden (Netherlands): African Studies Centre; p. 293–301.
  • Maitner B. 2020. BIEN: tools for accessing the botanical information and ecology network database. R package ver. 1.2.4. [accessed 2020 June 9]. https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=BIEN.
  • Matiku P, Ogol C, Mireri C. 2012. The impact of participatory forest management on forest integrity and biodiversity in Arabuko-Sokoke forest. Afr J Ecol. 50(2):184–192.
  • Matthews TJ, Cottee-Jones HE, Whittaker RJ. 2014. Habitat fragmentation and the species-area relationship: a focus on total species richness obscures the impact of habitat loss on habitat specialists. Diversity Distrib. 20(10):1136–1146.
  • Matthews TJ, Triantis KA, Whittaker RJ, Guilhaumon F. 2019. sars: an R package for fitting, evaluating and comparing species–area relationship models. Ecography. 42(8):1446–1455.
  • Mbuvi MTE, Wekesa L, Wekesa C, Leley N, Ntabo M, Eshitera A, Karangi M, Manyala P, Okeyo M, Sheikh M, et al. 2016. Capability map for growing high value tree species in the Coast region of Kenya. A guide for farmers, forest managers, extension agents and investors. Print Maxim Nairobi Kenya.
  • Mcclean CJ, Lovett JC, Küper W, Hannah L, Sommer JH, Barthlott W, Termansen M, Smith GF, Tokumine S, Taplin JRD, et al. 2005. African plant diversity and climate change. Missouri Bot Garden. 92:139–152.
  • Metcalfe K, Ffrench-Constant R, Gordon I. 2010. Sacred sites as hotspots for biodiversity: the Three Sisters Cave complex in coastal Kenya. Oryx. 44(01):118–123.
  • Mihoub JB, Henle K, Titeux N, Brotons L, Brummitt NA, Schmeller DS. 2017. Setting temporal baselines for biodiversity: the limits of available monitoring data for capturing the full impact of anthropogenic pressures. Sci Rep. 7(1):13.
  • Moerman DE, Estabrook GF. 2006. The botanist effect: counties with maximal species richness tend to be home to universities and botanists. J Biogeogr. 33(11):1969–1974.
  • Moomaw JC. 1960. A study of the plant ecology of the coast region of Kenya, East Africa. Nairobi (Kenya): Government Printer. https://edepot.wur.nl/493400.
  • Muchiri MN. 2001. Forest inventory report for the indigenous forests in Arabuko Sokoke forest reserve. Kenya Forest. Nairobi (Kenya): Research Institute.
  • Mutangah JG, Mwaura PK. 1992. A vegetation survey report, Arabuko Sokoke forest management and conservation project. Kenya: East African Herbarium, National Museums of Kenya.
  • Myers N, Mittermeier RA, Mittermeier CG, da Fonseca GA, Kent J. 2000. Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities. Nature. 403(6772):853–858.
  • Ngumbau VM, Luke Q, Nyange M, Wanga VO, Watuma BM, Mbuni YM, Munyao JN, Oulo MA, Mkala EM, Kipkoech S, et al. 2020. An annotated checklist of the coastal forests of Kenya, East Africa. PhytoKeys. 147:1–191.
  • Noad T, Birnie A. 1990. A fully illustrated field guide: trees of Kenya. Nairobi (Kenya): General Printers Ltd.
  • Pakia M. 2005. Plant ecology and ethnobotany of two sacred forests (Kayas) of Kenyan Coast. Bayreuth (Germany): Die Deutsche Bibliothek.
  • Pakia M, Cooke JA, van Staden J. 2003. The ethnobotany of the Midzichenda tribes of the coastal forest areas in Kenya: 2. Medicinal plant uses. S Afr J Bot. 69(3):382–395.
  • Pautasso M, McKinney ML. 2007. The botanist effect revisited: plant species richness, county area, and human population size in the United States. Conserv Biol. 21(5):1333–1340.
  • Pedersen TL. 2019. patchwork: the composer of plots. R package version 1.0.0. [accessed 2020 June 9]. https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=patchwork.
  • Petřík P, Pergl J, Wild J. 2010. Recording effort biases the species richness cited in plant distribution atlases. Perspect Plant Ecol Evol Syst. 12(1):57–65.
  • Phillips HRP, Halley JM, Urbina-Cardona JN, Purvis A. 2018. The effect of fragment area on site-level biodiversity. Ecography. 41(7):1220–1231.
  • R Core Team. 2020. R: a language and environment for statistical computing. Vienna (Austria): R Foundation for Statistical Computing. https://www.R-project.org/.
  • Rajat J, Jefwa J, Mwafaida J. 2017. Survey on indigenous food plants of Kaya Kauma and Kaya Tsolokero in Kilifi County Kenya. J Life Sci. 11(2):82–90.
  • Robertson SA. 1987. Preliminary floristic survey of Kaya forests of coastal Kenya. Nairobi (Kenya): WWF.
  • Robertson SA, Luke WRQ. 1993. The vegetation and conservation status of Kaya coastal forests in Kenya. Nairobi (Kenya): WWF.
  • Rösch V, Tscharntke T, Scherber C, Batáry P. 2015. Biodiversity conservation across taxa and landscapes requires many small as well as single large habitat fragments. Oecologia. 179(1):209–222.
  • Sastre P, Lobo JM. 2009. Taxonomist survey biases and the unveiling of biodiversity patterns. Biol Conserv. 142(2):462–467.
  • Serra-Diaz JM, Enquist BJ, Maitner B, Merow C, Svenning JC. 2017. Big data of tree species distributions: how big and how good? For Ecosyst. 4(1):1–12.
  • Shepheard-Walwyn E. 2014. Culture and conservation in the sacred sites of coastal Kenya [PhD thesis]. Canterbury (UK): Durrel Institute of conservation and ecology, University of Kent.
  • Slowikowski K. 2020. ggrepel: automatically position non-overlapping text labels with 'ggplot2'. R package version 0.8.2. [accessed 2020 June 9]. https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=ggrepel.
  • Sommer JH, Nowicki C, Rios L, Barthlott W, Ibisch PL. 2003. Extrapolating species ranges and biodiversity in data-por countries: the computerized model BIOM. Rev Soc Boliviana Bot. 4(1):171–190.
  • Stephenson PJ, Bowles-Newark N, Regan E, Stanwell-Smith D, Diagana M, Höft R, Abarchi H, Abrahamse T, Akello C, Allison H, et al. 2017. Unblocking the flow of biodiversity data for decision-making in Africa. Biol Conserv. 213:335–340.
  • Tuomisto H. 2010. A consistent terminology for quantifying species diversity? Yes, it does exist. Oecologia. 164(4):853–860.
  • Wekesa C, Otuoma J, Ngugi J, Muturi G. 2017. Floristic composition and structure of Arabuko Sokoke forest. In: Ochieng’ D, Luvanda A, Wekesa C, Mbuvi MTE, Ndalilo A, editors. Biodiversity status of Arabuko Sokoke forest, Kenya. Nairobi (Kenya): Kenya Forest Research Institute; p. 8–13.
  • Wass P, editor. 1995. Kenya’s indigenous forests: status, management and conservation. Gland (Switzerland): IUCN.
  • Wickham H. 2016. ggplot2: elegant graphics for data analysis. New York (NY): Springer-Verlag.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.