An up-to-date and comprehensive overview of the vegetation of South Africa and the two small neighbouring countries of Lesotho and Swaziland. This account is based on vegetation survey using appropriate tools of contemporary vegetation mapping and vegetation description.The aim was to draw a new vegetation map that depicts the complexity and macro-scale ecology and reflects the level of (and identifies and reveals gaps in) current knowledge of the vegetation of the region.
This is an extensive account of the vegetation of a complex and biologically intriguing part of the world, offering not only insights into structure and dynamics of the vegetation cover, but containing a wealth of base-line data for further vegetation-ecological, biogeographical, and conservation-oriented studies.
Included towards the back of the book is an atlas as a systematic series of A4 maps depicting the various vegetation types. The electronic version on the CD inside the front cover allows the user to zoom in at any scale to discern detail. The Map and the descriptive account of the vegetation of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland target not only scientific academia and the secondary and tertiary education sectors, but offers a powerful decision-making tool for conservationists, land and resource planners, and politicians as well as the interested public at large