A national vegetation database for South Africa

KNOWLEDGE OF THE VARIABILITY, DISTRIBUTION and dynamics of vegetation is an indispensable prerequisite for its management as a renewable resource. Thi s article describes the establishment and successful implementation of a na tional database devoted to the collation of data in the form of discrete Ve getation samples and accompanying information on the environment Using the same software and data-capture standards ensures compatibility of all sites hosting the National Vegetation Database of South Africa (coordinated in a joint effort by the Department of Botany, University of Pretoria, and the National Botanical Institute, Kirstenbosch) with other databases in neighbo uring countries, together forming a unified network.