French participation in the botanic cartography of french-speaking West Africa

UNITED NATIONS REGIONAL CJ\llTCJGRAPHIC CONFERENCE FOR AFRICA

Nairobi (Kenya), 1-13 July 1963 Provisional agenda item 14 (a)

UNITED NATIONS

ECONOMIC AND

S'OCIAL COUNCIL

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Distr.

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E/CN • 14/CART/l

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E!C0NF.43/12!Add.1 17 Juno 1963

ENGLISH

Original; FRENCH

FRENCH PARTIGIfA~rCN IN THE BOTANIC CJillTOGRA?HY OF FRElJOH-SPEAKIliG "EST AFRICA

ANNEX:

ilORK ON AFRICA DONE BY THE IliSTITUT DE LA CARTE INTBRlIATICJNALE DU TAPIS VBGETAL

(Document submitted by the French Government)

63-1779

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E!CN.14!CART!12!Add.1 E!CONF.43!12!Add.1

WORK ON AFRICA DvNE BY THE INSTITUT DE LA CARTE INTBRNATId\A1E DU TAPIS VEGETAL

(by F. Bagnouls)

The mapping of the ve",e tation and climatiC "regions of Africa and other overseas countries is done at the Institut de la carte internationale du tapis vegetal (Institute of the International Map of Vegetation Gover) whose laboratories are at the Faculty of Science, Toulouse.

The Institute, which was established in 1960, is direoted by

Professor H. Gaussen who had previously ,be,Em ,Director of the vegetation mapping service of the GNES.

1. Vegetation maps of Africa

Some are made on the scale of 1; 200,0.00" .o.ther-e on, the scale of 1:1,000,000.

The principle adopted for the representation of vegetation is that developed by H.

Guasse~

Thus, for example, starting from the convention that red l'E>presents intense heat and blue a high rate of humidity, the maps depict equatorial vegetation in violet (red + blue) and desert vegetation in red. The way in vlhich the colour 'is applied indicates the formation of the vegetation , flat tints indicate forest while small dots indicate "e rme '", Le., sparse herbaceous vegetation. Between these two extremes, savannah land, wooded savannah land, etc. are marked by Qashes or checks. The maps of Africa already published are

- on the scale of 1,200,000

Algeria:

Sahara:

Raba t-C asablanca

Oran, BOSQue t-i·,os taganem, Guel t-e s-Stel-DJelfa Beni-Abbh

H. Gaussen - frojets pour diverses cartes du monde au 111,000,00001 la carte ecologiQue du tapis vegetal (i'rojeots for various world maps on the scale of 1:1,000,000; the ecological map of the vegetation cover) International Geography Oongress, Lisbon 1949.

E/CN.14/CART/12/Add.l E!CONF.43/12!Add.1 Page 2

Ivory Coast:

Senegal' Mali:

Tunisia and Sailt-Algar:l.

aJ

Sahara:

in collaboration with ORSTOM

._- Tunis-Sfax

Faya-Largeau (being printed) Maps in course of preparation are:

- on the scale of 1:200,000 Algeria:

lilorocco:

Algiers, Tlemcem-Lebdou ),lazagan

- on the scale of 1:1,000,000

Algeria: Algiers-Laghouat (a continuation of the

Tunis-Sf~ sheet) Camerwn. complete map in two shee ts

].ladagascar: complete map in three sheets 2. Bioclimatic maps

The purpose of bioclimatic maps is to indicate the biological climatel!

Climate classification is based essentially on periods favourable or unfavourable to vegetation, i.e.:

Dry periods Semi-dry periods fiet periods Hot periods Cold periods

A month is dry when P"::;;2T

F. Bagnouls and H. Gaussen - Saison sache et indice xerothermique (Dry seascn and xerothermal index. Bull.Soc. His.nat.Toulouse, t 88, p 193-239. Toulouse 1953. b'. Bagnouls and II. Gaussen - Les climats biolo i ues et leur classification. (Biological climates and their classification. Ann. Geogr. Bull. Soc. Geogr. p,193-220. Paris 1957.

E/CN.14/CART/12/Add. 1 E/CONF.43/1 2/Add.l Page 3

P total precipitation in millimetre~

T average temperature in degrees centigrade.

~he dry period ie the successive continuaticn of dry months.

A month is semi-dry when 2T

<r

A month is wet when A month is hot when A month is cold when

P _{. >}···3T T >20⁰ T~Oo

Between 0 and an average of 20o the month ma.v be Warm temperate, mean temperate, cold temperate.

In Africa the principal climates are differentiated above all by the length and intensity of the dry period. If the dry period occurs in summer the olimate is of the Mediterranean type; if it occurs in winter the

olimate is tropical.

Published bioclimatic mapsl!

on the scale of 1:5,000,000

Map of Mediterranean regions: from Portugal to the Indus in longitude and from thg 12th to the 44th degree of latitude. This map contains, therefore, all the arid parts of Africa north of the equator, of the Near East and of the Middle East.

- on thg scale of 1:10,000,000

South Africa (south of the 20th degrge) - on the scale of 1:500,000

Rainfall map for Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco.

Unpublished map

1/

B/CN.14/CART/12/Add.1 E!CuNF.43/12!Add.1 Page 4

- on the scale of 1:10,000,000 The whcle of Africa.

Other-world maps

Published vegetation maps - on the scale of 1:1,000,000 Cape Comorin and Madras (India) - in preparation:

- on the scale of 1'1,000,000 South India, New Caledonia.

- on the scale of 1:200,000 Socie ty Islands

- Published climatic mapsl!

- on the scale of 1,10,000,000 Western United States of America Southern Australia

Southern part of South Amerioa - Unpublished maps

- on the scale of 1,10,000,000 South America

North America

Russia ~d Siberia.

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