XVI International Botanical Congess

A botanical survey was carried out on Little Tobago. Vegetation and environmental parameters were sampled at 82 sites across a 100x100m grid. Cluster Analysis, Ordination and Regression analysis were used to identify vegetation groups and to establish relationships between environmental factors and species' distribution. Statistical analyses indicated an absence of vegetation groups, instead the vegetation seems to be responding to aerial salt spray, wind exposure and soil conductivity. The flora is substantially different in human disturbed areas, where exotic species are becoming invasive. Control of the exotics is recommended to protect the Deciduous Seasonal Forest and rare species on the island, as this forest type is largely degraded elsewhere in Tobago and the Caribbean.