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Tree species diversity driven by environmental and anthropogenic factors in tropical dry forest fragments of central Veracruz, Mexico

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Abstract

We examined vegetation structure and woody species diversity in relation to 14 environmental and anthropogenic factors in ten tropical dry forest (TDF) fragments in central Veracruz, Mexico. The basal area of the canopy (30.2 ± 2.11 m2/ha) and understory (1.96 ± 0.12 m2/ha) trees was similar, but density (1,014 ± 104 and 2,532 ± 227 individuals/ha, respectively) differed among sites. We recorded 98 canopy, 77 understory, and 60 seedling species. Richness was 24–45 species per site, Fisher’s alpha and Shannon’s indices increased with site altitude. Chao Jaccard indices revealed high species turnover, and a consistently higher similarity within the sites at the lowest and within the highest elevation sites. Ordination identified altitude, aspect, slope, water proximity, cattle and trails as significant explanatory variables of species patterns, and showed that sites at lower elevations were clearly separated from the other sites. Environmental heterogeneity alone did not control species diversity distribution, but species were affected by environmental filters at different stages in their life cycle, e.g., water proximity was significant for saplings and seedlings but not for adults. Anthropogenic disturbances act synergistically, e.g., trails played a key role in determining structure and tree diversity patterns. An important finding is that human disturbance diminishes species diversity in this TDF, but sites at lower elevations were more disturbed and less diverse, therefore we need to study how environmental factors would act if there were no anthropogenic disturbance.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to María de Jesús Peralta for her valuable assistance in the field and herbarium, and to Daniela Trueba Nogueira and Luis Eduardo Zacarías for measurements and species identification in the initial stages of this project. We thank Fabiola López Barrera, Claudia Alvarez Aquino and an anonymous reviewer for their comments that improved the manuscript. This research was funded by the European Community under the INCO Project ReForLan (CT2006-032132).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Ecología, A.C., Km 2.5 carretera antigua a Coatepec No. 351, 91070, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico

    Guadalupe Williams-Linera & Francisco Lorea

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  1. Guadalupe Williams-Linera
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  2. Francisco Lorea
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Correspondence to Guadalupe Williams-Linera.

Additional information

Nomenclature Assignment of genera to families follows Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (2003).

Appendix

Appendix

Table 6 Species composition of the tropical dry forest in Paso de Ovejas, Veracruz, Mexico
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Williams-Linera, G., Lorea, F. Tree species diversity driven by environmental and anthropogenic factors in tropical dry forest fragments of central Veracruz, Mexico. Biodivers Conserv 18, 3269–3293 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-009-9641-3

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