Quantitative botanical diversity descriptors to set conservation priorities in Bakhuis Mountains rainforest, Suriname

Abstract

Within the framework of a flora and vegetation study carried out in the Bakhuis Mountains in Suriname, South America, descriptors of plant species and habitat biodiversity were used to set local-scale botanical conservation priorities. Species' diversity and habitat heterogeneity indices, relative scarcity, fragility indices for habitats and ratios of species of concern, such as rare, endemic or subendemic taxa, were processed through a multi-criteria analysis to determine a conservation priority index. One of the main objectives of the study was the setting of defensible conservation priorities at a local and regional scale. Results are discussed, with a focus on land use planning and biodiversity conservation in one of the three major evergreen rainforest regions in the world. Among the 13 vegetation types described in the study perimeter, two that were restricted in area were considered to be of higher concern for wildlife conservation: meso-xeric dwarf thickets found on latero-bauxitic hardcap hilltops, with a distinctive floristic composition, and Buxus citrifolia mesic forest patches, described for the first time in Suriname.