Summary
In the northern part of the Great Dyke, Rhodesia, the physiognomic and floristic differences between the vegetation types on serpentine and on non-serpentine substrates are very striking and the boundaries between these types are generally sharp. On either of the substrates there are also differences in the vegetation which correspond to differences in habitat. An outline of the Great Dyke environment is given. A number of plots, laid out in transects across the Great Dyke, were sampled according to the Braun-Blanquet approach. Six plant communities are distinguished and described in detail: one occurring on granite, two on pyroxenite and three on serpentine. The syntaxonomy of these communities is discussed. A riverine forest community which strongly differs from all these vegetation types is also described.
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Nomenclature is according to the present (1.1.1977) usage at the National Herbarium, Salisbury, Rhodesia.
One of us (M. J. A. Werger) wishes to gratefully acknowledge the financial support for this study by the Netherlands Foundation for the Advancement of Tropical Research (WOTRO) and by the Faculty of Science, University of Nijmegen.
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Werger, M.J.A., Wild, H. & Drummond, B.R. Vegetation structure and substrate of the northern part of the Great Dyke, Rhodesia environment and plant communities. Vegetatio 37, 79–89 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00126831
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00126831