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Plant Diversity in Live Fences and Pastures, Two Examples from the Mexican Humid Tropics

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Abstract

This study analyzes the potential uses of live fences and pastures as reservoirs of plant diversity for two regions with different management histories, Los Tuxtlas (LT) and Uxpanapa (UX), Veracruz, México. We studied two habitats, live fences and pastures, analyzed their species richness, diversity, structure and plant composition and classified species according to plant regeneration modes (light-demanding and shade tolerant), seed dispersal syndrome and their local uses. We recorded 62 species of trees at LT and 48 at UX. Live fences were more diverse than pastures in both regions. The LT site showed to analyze the relationship a higher diversity of plants in regeneration stages than the one at UX. However, UX had higher diversity of adult plants in the pastures than LT. Composition and structure of live fences were different between regions, as well as within live fences and pastures, 53 % of species were light-demanding and 40 % were shade tolerant; 70 % of the species were dispersed by birds. Differences between sites are associated with the modifications in live fences structure, which changed according to managerial practices and the use of local species; this may influence plant regeneration modes as well as the visits of avian dispersal agents. In LT, all species found in live fences were useful to humans, whereas in UX, less than half were used by the local population. Our results underline the importance of live fences and isolated trees in pasture habitats as potential sites to host native and useful species from tropical rain forests in livestock landscapes.

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Acknowledgments

The study was funded by the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACyT) and the Government of the state of Veracruz through Grant No 108990. Zoraida Calle, Rainer Bussmann and one anonymous reviewer provided valuable criticisms to improve this paper. We thank S. Sinaca for his invaluable help in the collection and identification of the plant material.

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  1. Betsabé Ruiz-Guerra

    Present address: Instituto de Ecología AC, Red de Ecología Evolutiva, Km 2.5 Carretera Antigua a Coatepec 351, Congregación el Haya, 91070, Xalapa, Mexico

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Investigaciones Tropicales, Universidad Veracruzana, Ex Hacienda Lucas Martín priv. Araucarias, C.P. 91110, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico

    Betsabé Ruiz-Guerra, Noé Velázquez Rosas & Juan Carlos López-Acosta

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  1. Betsabé Ruiz-Guerra
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Correspondence to Juan Carlos López-Acosta.

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Ruiz-Guerra, B., Rosas, N.V. & López-Acosta, J.C. Plant Diversity in Live Fences and Pastures, Two Examples from the Mexican Humid Tropics. Environmental Management 54, 656–667 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-014-0307-x

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