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Tree diversity patterns in successive vegetation types along an elevation gradient in the Mountains of Eastern Mexico

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Ecological Research

Abstract

Tree species richness changes along elevation gradients in response to underlying environmental conditions. Our hypothesis was that richness is associated with climatic variables and decreases with elevation. The objective was to identify trends in species, genus and family richness, diversity and vegetation structure in relation to climate variables along an elevation gradient with successive types of forest in Veracruz, Mexico. Trees were identified and measured in 0.1 ha at 15 sites located from 140 to 4000 m a.s.l. Generalized linear models were used to fit richness, diversity, basal area and density as a function of elevation; the best model was selected using Akaike’s Information Criterion. Multivariate analyses were used to explore climatic variables associated to composition of groups of sites along the gradient. Along the entire elevation gradient, species, genus and family richness decreased unimodally, and diversity decreased monotonically. Richness was positively correlated with temperature but not with precipitation. Basal area increased monotonically and highest basal area was associated with high humidity and certain tree species (Quercus and Abies). Ordinations indicated three groups of sites: lower elevation dry forest associated with temperature seasonality, mid-elevation cloud forest associated with precipitation-related variables, and coniferous forest at the top of the gradient associated with elevation. Our study shows that different plant communities are associated with certain climatic conditions and harbour different tree species, genera and families. The results support the hypothesis that species richness is associated with climate, and decreases with elevation.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Claudia Gallardo Hernández for assistance with species identification, and Javier Tolome for help during field work. Two anonymous reviewers provided valuable suggestions that greatly improved the manuscript. This work was supported by the European Community under INCO Project Reforlan (CT2006-032132), CONACyT (through a Master’s scholarship 239909 to MTG, Biological Sciences program, UNAM), and the Instituto de Ecología, A.C. (Project 2003010145).

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Authors and Affiliations

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

    María Toledo-Garibaldi & Guadalupe Williams-Linera

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  1. María Toledo-Garibaldi
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  2. Guadalupe Williams-Linera
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Correspondence to Guadalupe Williams-Linera.

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Toledo-Garibaldi, M., Williams-Linera, G. Tree diversity patterns in successive vegetation types along an elevation gradient in the Mountains of Eastern Mexico. Ecol Res 29, 1097–1104 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-014-1196-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-014-1196-4

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