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Abstract Detail


Ecological Section

Vargas-Rodriguez, Yalma [1], Platt, William [1], Vazquez-Garcia, J. Antonio [2].

Relict cloud forests with disjunct populations of Guatemalan-Mexican sugar maple (Acer saccharum subsp. skutchii) in relation to environmental and disturbance gradients.

Acer saccharum subsp. skutchii occurs as six known disjunct populations in cloud forests of Mexico and Guatemala. We assessed stand structure, conservation status and measured environmental conditions characterizing these six forests. We sampled density and basal area of woody plants ≥1 cm DBH in circular plots at each site. Differences in stand structure among forests were examined using ANOVA. We used NMS-ordination to explore associations of cloud forest sugar maple and woody plants with environmental variables. Temperate genera decreased in number from north to south. Temperate (Carpinus caroliniana, Alnus acuminata subsp. arguta, Cornus excelsa, Liquidambar styraciflua) and tropical (Podocarpus reichei, Zinowiewia concinna) species were co-dominant with cloud forest sugar maple. Basal area of all species varied between 24-52 m2ha-1, and density ranged from 990-2986 trees/ha. Cloud forest sugar maple comprised 7-43% of total basal area and 1-16% of total woody plants, but was regenerating successfully in only two populations. Most variation in species abundance was explained by soil nutrients, disturbance, geography and climatic variables. Anthropogenic disturbance has had a negative effect on four populations. The species should be included in the IUCN-Red List.


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1 - Louisiana State University, Biological Sciences, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803, USA
2 - Centro Universitario De Ciencias Biológicas Y Agropecuarias, Monte Olimpo 3221, Colonia Habitacional Num 9, 44300 Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico

Keywords:
species density
species decline
ancient flora
vegetation structure
Neogene vegetation
soil nutrients.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Sections
Session: 58
Location: 215/SUB
Date: Wednesday, July 30th, 2008
Time: 10:00 AM
Number: 58001
Abstract ID:14


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