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In this work, a new approach is proposed on the problem of typology in rain forests, focusing on zonal and non-zonal forest types. The links between phytogeography and phytosociology approaches are discussed, at the scale of the guineo-congolian region, and the homologies are emphasized leading to an "open" conception of hierarchical classifications. A new nested plot method is proposed for the typology of tropical rain forests, based on a structural definition of forest strata, and is applied to study sites from Atlantic (Equatorial Guinea) to continental (Cameroon) central Africa, and from sea level to 1300 m. There are 3 main results in the present study. First, a floristic, physiognomic, functional and phytogeographical description of the main forest types of Atlantic central Africa is proposed, including a synthetic map of guineo-congolian rain forests. Second, the theory of ecological transgressions and the replaceability of ecological factors are illustrated by many examples. Third, a foothill refuge hypothesis is proposed, which differs from montane and fluvial refuges by its typically zonal nature.
About the author
Bruno Senterre termine ses études d'agronomie en 1999, primé deux fois pour son mémoire. En 2005, il défend sa thèse de doctorat sur les forêts denses d'Afrique centrale. Il effectue ensuite un post-doc sur la révision taxonomique des Campanulacées, au Mexique. Depuis 2008, installé aux Seychelles, il étudie les habitats insulaires.
