The “Herbier IRD de Guyane” (CAY) was established in 1965 by R.A.A. Oldeman and harbors nearly 200000 specimens, mostly from French Guiana and nearby countries Suriname, Guyana, Brazil (particularly the state of Amapá), and Venezuela (state of Amazonas). The dataset presented here is the fruit of 30-years’ work by CAY’s staff as well as that of numerous other botanists who have helped make CAY a key scientific platform and leading center of botanical research for the Guiana Shield.

The UMR EcoFoG possesses an herbarium reference collection based on samples harvested all along the different forest plots studied by our teams. This collection is maintained by a botanist and stored on the Agronomical Campus of Kourou, INRA building. A Excel database is linked to this collection and the taxa found in it are listed in the Guyafor database. The collection gathers more than 3000 samples representing 74 families, 288 genera and more than 800 taxa.

The general objective of the works led by the laboratory Biology of the Interactions is to contribute to the understanding of mechanisms at the origin of and which underlie the biodiversity through the study of the interactions between species. These interactions between species represent one of the important dimensions of the biodiversity because they establish the mechanisms which bind the elements of the biodiversity between them. This laboratory is situated on the Agronomic Campus of Kourou, French Guiana, within the buildings INRA of the UMR EcoFoG. Our research activities concern community assembly rules and the ecological adaptation and the plasticity of species traits in answer to the variations and to the constraints of their biotic and abiotic environment. These works lean largely on field studies in an integrative approach associating chemical, behavioral, molecular ecology and functional perspectives. The privileged models of study are leaf litter ants and the networks of mutualist interactions between insects, plants and microorganisms, such as associations between ants, plants and fungi and the trophic aquatic networks of phytotelmes. The interactions of predation and competition are also studied, with ants as main model, through the quantification of the functional processes in which these organisms are involved and of the biochemical and structural characterization of venoms, in a fundamental and applied perspective. This lab possesses: • Binocular loupes (Leica : S8APO (x2), S6T, MZ75, M80 - Wild : M5) with cold-light source (col de cygne), acquired in 2010, they allow the observation of samples of small sizes, with progressive zoom (7,5x à 60x) with a maximal height de 7,5 cm (for S8APO). Object field from 3 cm to 3 mm, according to the zoom level. • Microscope Olympus BX51, acquired in 2010, 4x, 10x, 20x, 40x, 100x. • A macroscope Leica Z16 APO (fully apochromatic zoom system for high contrast, high-resolution, detailed analysis) installed on a single beam path providing 2D images and ensuring parallax-free imaging. The lab uses 0.5x, 1x and 2x objectives, allowing a maximum magnification of 230x and a digital camera DFC450 (max resolution : 2560x1920). • Lyophiliser Alpha 1-2 LD, acquired in 2010. • Heating chamber, acquired in 2013, to maintain samples between 30 and 80°C. • Extractor hood (Sorbone), acquired in 2012, to manipulate toxic products.

The site Trinité is composed of four 3km-transects (20m wide). 5365 trees with dbh>=20cm have been recorded by Office national des forêts (ONF). Fauna inventories have been made by Office national de la chasse et de la faune sauvage (ONCFS) few days after. No under-storey plots on this site. Soils have been described using 17 samples (1.20m depth max.). Laboratory analysis are available for one soil-profile.

The site Montagne Tortue is composed of one 3km-transects (20m wide). 940 trees with dbh>=20cm have been recorded by Office national des forêts (ONF). No fauna inventories. No under-storey plants inventory. Soils have been described using 7 samples (1.20m depth max.). No laboratory analysis available for soils.

The site Crique Armontabo is composed of four 3km-transects (20m wide). 5183 trees with dbh>=20cm have been recorded by Office national des forêts (ONF). Fauna inventories have been made by Office national de la chasse et de la faune sauvage (ONCFS) few days after. No under-storey plants inventory available. Soils have been described using 12 samples (1.20m depth max.). Laboratory analyses are available for one soil-profile.

This “Inventaire Papetier” was conducted by the CTFT in 1975. The block covers 59 160 ha. 67 234 trees have been inventoried in 240 plots (118 ha) Pre-census DBH is 10 cm on all plot DBH have been measured by classes with a range of 10 cm since 20 cm. Plots have been located on GIS in 2009 using original maps and field note-books (indicating slopes, rivers, etc...).

The site Régina is composed of two 3km-transects (20m wide). 1958 trees with dbh>=20cm have been recorded by Office national des forêts (ONF). No fauna inventories available. 284 under-storey plants have been recorded on 14 25m²-plots by Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD). Soils have been described using 13 samples (1.20m depth max.) and two soil pits (1.50m depth). Laboratory analyses are available for one profile and for the two soil pits

This “Inventaire Papetier” was conducted by ONF in 1976. The block covers 22 087 ha. 54 020 trees have been inventoried in 235 plots (164 ha) Pre-census DBH is 10 cm on one plot out of two and 40 cm on the others. DBH have been measured by classes with a range of 10 cm. Plots have been located on GIS in 2010 using original maps and field note-books (indicating slopes, rivers, etc...).

The site Kourouaï is composed of three 3km-transects (20m wide). 3419 trees with dbh>=20cm have been recorded by Office national des forêts (ONF). No fauna inventories on this site. 685 under-storey plants have been recorded on 25 25m²-plots. Soils have been described using 11 samples (1.20m depth max.). No laboratory analysis available for soils.