Print PageIn the central portion of the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico, lies the Sierra de Tamaulipas, this is a main discontinuity of the Sierra Madre Oriental massif in of the Gulf of Mexico slope. In these mountains, low deciduous forests (LDF) are developed, which limits their northern distribution in this portion of the state. The LDF is characterized by hosting a wide variety of flora and fauna considered one of the world's most threatened ecosystems. This is a type of vegetation that occurs in their climatic adaptations phenology in two different periods, the wet where the vegetation shows a more intense green and dry where the plants lose their foliage. Since in the Sierra de Tamaulipas is unknown current state of LDF, is important to study this plant community so that they can lay the bases for management and conservation. In this study, we established permanent sampling sites in different variables of altitude, orography, soil and climate. To determine the structure of the woody vegetation of the LDF, four quadrants of 50 x 50 m were established, quantifying and measuring all individuals with ≥ 2 cm diameter and height of 1.30 m. We applied the Simpson and Shannon index and importance value index (IVI) which measures the value of the species, based on dominance, density and frequency. These indices were used to determine the diversity and richness of species, and to obtain the importance value of tree species.
Results/Conclusions
Results a total of 2.266 trees belonging to 49 species, 46 genera and 14 families of vascular plants. The family Fabaceae was best represented with five species, followed by Rutaceae and Rhamnaceae families with three species each. Based on the analysis, those with high importance value represent an objective way to identify those that characterize the tropical deciduous forest. The most important plants were Drypetes lateriflora (73.76%), Ocotea tampicensis (53.18%), Acacia berlandieri (34.73%), Myrcianthes fragrans (30.81%), Ehretia anacua (26.69%) and Casimiroa greggii (24 , 00%). For its part, tree species with diameters greater than 10 cm are mainly Harpalyce arborescens, Ocotea tampicensis, Ebenopsis ebano and Lysiloma divaricatum, which are relevant for their use and forest management in the region (posterity, charcoal). However, it is considered that these activities have directly influenced the low diversity of species recorded (2.6%) that prevails in the Sierra de Tamaulipas, and therefore it is urgent to implement conservation programs here.
