Composition, structure and diversity of shrublands in central Nuevo Leon, Mexico

Abstract

The aim of this study was to carry out a comparative analysis at the plant community level of the five most common types of shrublands (semithorn shrubland, microphyllous desert shrubland, rosetophyllous desert shrubland, piedmont scrub, and tamaulipan thornscrub) in the state of Nuevo Leon (northeastern Mexico). Twenty-five sampling sites (100 m2 each one) were established in each shrubland type (25 in total) to evaluate the vegetation structure. At each sampling site, we estimated the plant density (N ha-1), plant coverage (m2 ha-1), specific richness ( S ), and alpha diversity index ( H’ ). One way-analysis of variance was used to compare plant attributes between the plant communities. In the studied five plant communities, a total of 85 vascular plant species were registered, belonging to approximately 65 genera and 28 families. The most representative families were Cactaceae (18 species), Fabaceae (16 species), Asteraceae (six species), and Agavaceae (five species). Analysis of variance showed highly significant differences between the shrublands in terms of the studied plant attributes. The microphyllous desert shrubland showed the lowest plant density (1,868 N ha-1) and plant coverage (2,637 m2 ha-1) and the piedmont scrub the highest (4,512 N ha-1 and 17,931 m2 ha-1, respectively). With respect to specific richness and the alpha diversity index, the lowest values ( S = 3.72 and H’ = 0.91, respectively) were presented by the microphyllous desert shrubland, whereas the semithorn shrubland exhibited the highest values ( S = 11.56 and H’ = 2.15). This study provides valuable information about the composition, structure and diversity of shrublands in the state of Nuevo Leon.