Wednesday 1 November 2017

Status of native flora of Mauritius

The Mascarene islands, Mauritius, RĂ©union and Rodrigues which are situated in Indian Ocean are a sanctuary for numerous plant species that are found nowhere else on planet earth.

Mascarenes archipelago highlighted in red

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has identified the Mascarenes as a Centre of Plant Diversity. It came as no surprise when IUCN rated Mauritius as having the third most endangered island flora in the world after Hawaii and the Canary Islands.

The flora of Mauritius consists of just under 700 species and the table below highlights some of the taxa according to their status:

Status
No. of Taxa
Endemic
273
Extinct
61
Endangered
55
Vulnerable    
98

It is is a matter of great concern that 89 taxa are represented by 10 or fewer known individuals and five taxa are represented by only a single individual in the wild.

Many of the surviving endemic species are threatened with extinction, due mainly to introduction of invasive alien species, decline in forest cover and over-exploitation. Their isolation combined with the physical, climatic, and biological factors prevailing in this part of the Indian Ocean have contributed to the high level endemism found here.

Enough of the technical jargon now! My first post has been very long, but please bear with me friends. This was necessary to set the stage for subsequent articles that will aim to create awareness on the Flora of Mauritius. The pictures that will be posted are from my personal collection and some have been shared by friends and colleagues as well.

6 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Thanx. I need pictures for future posts. I would appreciate if you or anyone could help.

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    2. Well done Joyram. Keep it up.

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  2. Very nice blog.
    Well done!
    Mauritius beauty is being revealed.
    But also the collective intelligence of our work force.
    Keep up the good work.

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  3. Replies
    1. Navin nicely created your blog. Congrats!

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