Premium
Association between cacti and nurse perennials in a heterogeneous tropical dry forest in northwestern Mexico
Author(s) -
Arriaga Laura,
Maya Yolanda,
Diaz Sara,
Cancino Jorge
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
journal of vegetation science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1654-1103
pISSN - 1100-9233
DOI - 10.2307/3235593
Subject(s) - perennial plant , tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests , geography , spatial distribution , range (aeronautics) , biology , tropics , spatial ecology , ecology , cactus , arid , environmental science , agronomy , materials science , remote sensing , composite material
. The Sierra de La Laguna, Baja California Sur harbors the only tropical dry forest of the Peninsula. An inventory of the perennial plants was carried out at the eastern part of this mountain range. Plant spatial distribution was analyzed considering the species composition and vertical stratification of plant clusters in a study plot of 2 500 m 2 . A plant cluster was defined as a group of at least three individuals with a maximum distance between plants of 1 m. Soil physical‐chemical characteristics and soil surface temperatures were compared between shade and sun conditions. The tropical dry forest of Baja California Sur presents a highly aggregated pattern of species distribution. Most of the perennial plants grow clumped, yet not all of the six cactus species recorded were significantly associated with them. Pattern analysis revealed that only Stenocereus thurberii and Ferocactus peninsulae were aggregated and associated to perennial plants. There is no replacement pattern between cacti and perennial plants. Nutrient content, including soil fertility, between shade and sun conditions does not seem to explain the patchy distribution of perennial plants, while the differences in solar radiation between these conditions appear to be restrictive and determinant of this spatial pattern of distribution.