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A PRELIMINARY CHECKLIST OF THE VASCULAR PLANTS OF THE CHIQUIBUL FOREST, BELIZE

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2006

S. G. M. BRIDGEWATER
Affiliation:
Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK. E-mail: s.bridgewater@nhm.ac.uk
D. J. HARRIS
Affiliation:
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
C. WHITEFOORD
Affiliation:
Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK. E-mail: s.bridgewater@nhm.ac.uk
A. K. MONRO
Affiliation:
Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK. E-mail: s.bridgewater@nhm.ac.uk
M. G. PENN
Affiliation:
Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK. E-mail: s.bridgewater@nhm.ac.uk
D. A. SUTTON
Affiliation:
Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK. E-mail: s.bridgewater@nhm.ac.uk
B. SAYER
Affiliation:
National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin, Ireland
B. ADAMS
Affiliation:
Belize Botanic Gardens
M. J. BALICK
Affiliation:
The New York Botanical Garden
D. H. ATHA
Affiliation:
The New York Botanical Garden
J. SOLOMON
Affiliation:
Missouri Botanical Garden
B. K. HOLST
Affiliation:
Marie Selby Botanical Gardens
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Abstract

Covering an area of 177,000 hectares, the region known within Belize as the Chiquibul Forest comprises the country's largest forest reserve and includes the Chiquibul Forest Reserve, the Chiquibul National Park and the Caracol Archaeological Reserve. Based on 7047 herbarium and live collections, a checklist of 1355 species of vascular plant is presented for this area, of which 87 species are believed to be new records for the country. Of the 41 species of plant known to be endemic to Belize, four have been recorded within the Chiquibul, and 12 species are listed in The World Conservation Union (IUCN) 2006 Red List of Threatened Species. Although the Chiquibul Forest has been relatively well collected, there are geographical biases in botanical sampling which have focused historically primarily on the limestone forests of the Chiquibul Forest Reserve. A brief review of the collecting history of the Chiquibul is provided, and recommendations are given on where future collecting efforts may best be focused. The Chiquibul Forest is shown to be a significant regional centre of plant diversity and an important component of the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor.

Type
Articles
Copyright
2006, Trustees of the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh

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