CACTUS – Vegetation database of the Dutch Caribbean Islands

Abstract

The vegetation database CACTUS (registered in GIVD under SA-00-004) aims to bring together all plot-based relevés from the Dutch Caribbean Islands that are available from literature, unpublished resources, and recent field surveys. The database currently contains 2,701 vegetation descriptions. The database is used for vegetation classification, to investigate vegetation change over time, to assist in the planning of vegetation surveys, as a source for plant species distribution maps, and to inform nature conservation and policy. Taxonomic references: Van Proosdij (2012) for the Leeward Islands, Axelrod (2017, 2021) for the Windward Islands, except for St. Martin (Howard 1974-1989).