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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Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado: 2009
Materias:
Celtis tala
Conservation
Espinal forest
Exotic species invasion
Fire
Juveniles
Trithrinax palms
Celtis pallida
Prosopis
Prosopis alba
Trithrinax
Trithrinax campestris
Acceso en línea:https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_09603115_v18_n13_p3615_Lewis
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_09603115_v18_n13_p3615_Lewis
Aporte de:
Biblioteca Digital - Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (UBA) de Universidad de Buenos Aires
id paper:paper_09603115_v18_n13_p3615_Lewis
record_format dspace
spelling paper:paper_09603115_v18_n13_p3615_Lewis2023-06-08T15:57:38Z Woody vegetation structure and composition of the last relicts of Espinal vegetation in subtropical Argentina 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. 2009 https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_09603115_v18_n13_p3615_Lewis 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
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.
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
publishDate 2009
url https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_09603115_v18_n13_p3615_Lewis
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_09603115_v18_n13_p3615_Lewis
_version_ 1768541570639855616

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