ARB611(VoR).pdf (1.62 MB)
The Flora of Tuvalu: Lakau Mo Mouku o Tuvalu
book
posted on 2019-09-11, 17:54 authored by R. R. ThamanThis paper is a
compilation and analysis of vascular plants that have been reported present on
the eight atolls of the independent nation of Tuvalu in the Central Pacific. It
is based on field inventories conducted by the author and collaborators between
1991 and 2016 plus available published and unpublished records of vascular
plant collections and observations made since the late 1800s. The indigenous
vegetation and flora of Tuvalu are highly disturbed and the flora is now
numerically dominated by introduced exotic species. This has been the result of
a long post–European contact and British colonial heritage, including over a
century of planting monocultural coconut plantations; extensive habitat
destruction, excavation and conversion of much of the best cultivable land from
“borrow pits” to build airstrips during World War II; rapid population growth,
including the migration from outer atolls to, and the expansion of, the main
settlement and government center on Funafuti Atoll; and increased shipping and
air services and agricultural development projects that have facilitated the
introduction of new plants. The total number of
vascular plant species that have been recorded at some time on Tuvalu,
including all indigenous and introduced species, is about 362 species or
distinct varieties, of which only about 59 (16%) are possibly indigenous. The
remaining 303 species (83% of the flora) are non-indigenous species that have
been introduced by humans, some of which may have been at one time or another
early aboriginal introductions. There are no endemic species that are unique to
Tuvalu, with almost all of the indigenous plants being widespread,
easily-dispersed coastal species that have the ability to cope successfully in
the harsh atoll environment. The low number of indigenous species is an
indication of the lack of habitat diversity on atolls compared with larger high
islands, the difficulty of cross-ocean dispersal by plants, and the difficulty
of long-term survival in the harsh atoll environment, which is dominated by
poor soils, high salinity and physiological drought. Despite the degradation,
the 362 or so plant species that still survive in Tuvalu are the only plants
that the inhabitants have to satisfy many of their most important cultural,
economic and environmental needs and to give them resilience against climate
and global change.
History
Series
- Atoll Research Bulletin