Biodiversity in Southern Africa
The concept of biodiversity encompasses the number and variety of organisms in-
habiting a specified geographic region. Owing to its diverse range of climatic and
topographic conditions, southern Africa possesses a wealth of plant and animal
species. It is considered to have the richest temperate flora in the world, with a flor-
istic diversity of about 24 000 species and intraspecific taxa in 368 families. With
only 2.5% of the world’s land surface, it contains more than 10% of the world’s vas-
cular plant flora [5]. Southern Africa also contains a major proportion of the 50 500
taxa present in sub-Saharan Africa [6].
South Africa has a flourishing diversity of cultures, with 11 official languages,
giving an indication of the many different communities present in this area of the
African continent. Studies of the varying cultural practices, together with methods
of traditional healing using the extensive array of available plants, are yielding val-
uable information to researchers.
The concept of biodiversity encompasses the number and variety of organisms in-
habiting a specified geographic region. Owing to its diverse range of climatic and
topographic conditions, southern Africa possesses a wealth of plant and animal
species. It is considered to have the richest temperate flora in the world, with a flor-
istic diversity of about 24 000 species and intraspecific taxa in 368 families. With
only 2.5% of the world’s land surface, it contains more than 10% of the world’s vas-
cular plant flora [5]. Southern Africa also contains a major proportion of the 50 500
taxa present in sub-Saharan Africa [6].
South Africa has a flourishing diversity of cultures, with 11 official languages,
giving an indication of the many different communities present in this area of the
African continent. Studies of the varying cultural practices, together with methods
of traditional healing using the extensive array of available plants, are yielding val-
uable information to researchers.
Post a Comment