WOODY PLANT DIVERSITY IN DECIDUOUS AND SEMI-DECIDUOUS TROPICAL FOREST OF SIERRA DE VALLEJO, NAYARIT, MEXICO

Background: Deciduous and sub-deciduous tropical forests are distinguished by their floristic diversity, their emarkable concentration of endemic species, high turnover, and low species similarity. Questions: What is the alpha and beta diversity of the woody plant species of the deciduous and sub-deciduous tropical forest in Sierra de Vallejo? Study site and dates: Sierra de Vallejo, which is part of the Natural Resources Protection Area, Sierra de Vallejo-Rio Ameca, Nayarit-Jalisco; August 2017 to May 2018. Methods: 15 transects (0.1 ha) were established, identifying each woody plant with diameter at the breast height (DBH)>= 3 cm. Alpha diversity was analyzed considering true diversity based on the effective number of species and abundance range curves. Beta diversity was analyzed with similarity, turnover and nestedness. Results: We counted 1,556 individuals belonging to 45 families, 99 genera, and 126 species, 22 species endemic to Mexico, one species endemic to the region, 84 native and four exotics. Sites were characterized by low observed species richness (13-37 species), high variation in abundance (44-229 individuals), low true diversity (q0, 18-49 species), high turnover (91-96 %), low nestedness (0.9-1 %) and low similarity (8 %). Conclusions: The floristic diversity values show the importance of preserving the greatest number of areas with tropical forest in Sierra de Vallejo, reinforcing the conservation and management strategies of this type of forest within this Natural Protected Area of Natural Resources.

Automated summary

This study investigated the woody plant species diversity of the deciduous and sub-deciduous tropical forest in Sierra de Vallejo. The results showed low species richness, high variation in individual numbers, and low true diversity in this area.