Woody vegetation structure and composition of the last relicts of Espinal vegetation in subtropical Argentina
Until the beginning of the twentieth century there were extensive subtropical seasonal thorny forests surrounding the Pampas grasslands of Argentina, known as the 'Espinal'. In central Argentina there still exist relicts of the Espinal, belonging to the 'Entrerrianense District'....
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todo:paper_09603115_v18_n13_p3615_Lewis2023-10-03T15:53:45Z Woody vegetation structure and composition of the last relicts of Espinal vegetation in subtropical Argentina Lewis, J.P. Noetinger, S. Prado, D.E. Barberis, I.M. Celtis tala Conservation Espinal forest Exotic species invasion Fire Juveniles Trithrinax palms Celtis pallida Celtis tala Prosopis Prosopis alba Trithrinax Trithrinax campestris Until the beginning of the twentieth century there were extensive subtropical seasonal thorny forests surrounding the Pampas grasslands of Argentina, known as the 'Espinal'. In central Argentina there still exist relicts of the Espinal, belonging to the 'Entrerrianense District'. These forests were never described or analyzed in detail. In 2004 we studied 10 randomly located plots of 50 × 2 m. All individuals and stems of woody species were counted and their diameters at breast height (DBH) were measured; individuals with <1 cm DBH were considered juveniles. We recorded 2,300 woody individuals/ ha corresponding to 12 species. The more constant species are the palm Trithrinax campestris (100%), Celtis tala (90%), Prosopis alba and Celtis pallida (both 50%). The plots are relatively homogeneous, but once classified with cluster analysis two groups are formed according to the relative abundance of C. tala and T. campestris; the latter species is more frequent in more open or fire-disturbed habitats. The results of Canonical Analysis of Principal coordinates are in agreement with the classification. We postulate that the differences between both groups are caused by a differential degree of disturbance (probably caused by fires). Both dominant species show abundant juveniles, and the invasion by exotic woody species is limited. These forest relicts are among the last remnants of the massive expansions of forests in central Argentina. Besides their historical value, an urgent call is made for their preservation, sustainable use and defence from biological invasions. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2009. JOUR info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ar http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_09603115_v18_n13_p3615_Lewis |
institution |
Universidad de Buenos Aires |
institution_str |
I-28 |
repository_str |
R-134 |
collection |
Biblioteca Digital - Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (UBA) |
topic |
Celtis tala Conservation Espinal forest Exotic species invasion Fire Juveniles Trithrinax palms Celtis pallida Celtis tala Prosopis Prosopis alba Trithrinax Trithrinax campestris |
spellingShingle |
Celtis tala Conservation Espinal forest Exotic species invasion Fire Juveniles Trithrinax palms Celtis pallida Celtis tala Prosopis Prosopis alba Trithrinax Trithrinax campestris Lewis, J.P. Noetinger, S. Prado, D.E. Barberis, I.M. Woody vegetation structure and composition of the last relicts of Espinal vegetation in subtropical Argentina |
topic_facet |
Celtis tala Conservation Espinal forest Exotic species invasion Fire Juveniles Trithrinax palms Celtis pallida Celtis tala Prosopis Prosopis alba Trithrinax Trithrinax campestris |
description |
Until the beginning of the twentieth century there were extensive subtropical seasonal thorny forests surrounding the Pampas grasslands of Argentina, known as the 'Espinal'. In central Argentina there still exist relicts of the Espinal, belonging to the 'Entrerrianense District'. These forests were never described or analyzed in detail. In 2004 we studied 10 randomly located plots of 50 × 2 m. All individuals and stems of woody species were counted and their diameters at breast height (DBH) were measured; individuals with <1 cm DBH were considered juveniles. We recorded 2,300 woody individuals/ ha corresponding to 12 species. The more constant species are the palm Trithrinax campestris (100%), Celtis tala (90%), Prosopis alba and Celtis pallida (both 50%). The plots are relatively homogeneous, but once classified with cluster analysis two groups are formed according to the relative abundance of C. tala and T. campestris; the latter species is more frequent in more open or fire-disturbed habitats. The results of Canonical Analysis of Principal coordinates are in agreement with the classification. We postulate that the differences between both groups are caused by a differential degree of disturbance (probably caused by fires). Both dominant species show abundant juveniles, and the invasion by exotic woody species is limited. These forest relicts are among the last remnants of the massive expansions of forests in central Argentina. Besides their historical value, an urgent call is made for their preservation, sustainable use and defence from biological invasions. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2009. |
format |
JOUR |
author |
Lewis, J.P. Noetinger, S. Prado, D.E. Barberis, I.M. |
author_facet |
Lewis, J.P. Noetinger, S. Prado, D.E. Barberis, I.M. |
author_sort |
Lewis, J.P. |
title |
Woody vegetation structure and composition of the last relicts of Espinal vegetation in subtropical Argentina |
title_short |
Woody vegetation structure and composition of the last relicts of Espinal vegetation in subtropical Argentina |
title_full |
Woody vegetation structure and composition of the last relicts of Espinal vegetation in subtropical Argentina |
title_fullStr |
Woody vegetation structure and composition of the last relicts of Espinal vegetation in subtropical Argentina |
title_full_unstemmed |
Woody vegetation structure and composition of the last relicts of Espinal vegetation in subtropical Argentina |
title_sort |
woody vegetation structure and composition of the last relicts of espinal vegetation in subtropical argentina |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_09603115_v18_n13_p3615_Lewis |
work_keys_str_mv |
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_version_ |
1807319106629664768 |