Prof Ladislav (Laco) Mucina completed his education in Slovakia and at the Technical University Berlin (Germany). He then served as a professor at universities in Austria, Italy, Sweden, Kuwait, South Africa and Australia; currently he is the Iluka Chair in Vegetation Science and Biogeography at the University of Western Australia, and an elected Honorary Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. His scientific interests span descriptive vegetation science (especially vegetation surveys, classification and mapping), biosystematics, molecular phylogeny, population ecology, evolutionary biology, biogeography, biodiversity science, environmental management, plant community restoration, and conservation biology.

1.Introduction: Rationale and Objectives.- 2.Materials and Methods: How to Survey Forests?.- 3.Legacy Data: Some Data-analytical Experiments.- 4.Classification of the Albany Coastal Forests.- 5.Classification of the Pondoland Scarp Forests.- 6.Classification of the Eastern Scarp Forests.- 7.Modelling of Forest-Environmental Relationships.- 8.Lessons for a Forest Vegetation Survey.

This book highlights classification patterns and underlying ecological drivers structuring the vegetation of selected indigenous subtropical forests in South Africa. It uses original field sampling and advanced numerical data analysis to examine three major types of forest - Albany Coastal Forests, Pondoland Coastal Scarp and Eastern Scarp - all of which are of high conservation value. Offering a unique and systematic assessment of South African ecology in unprecedented detail, the book could serve as a model for future vegetation surveys of forests not only in Africa, but also around the globe.