Abstract
I. Abstract Although our biological knowledge regarding cactus species is thorough in many areas, only in recent years have ecologists addressed their demographic behavior. Here we attempt a first review of the present knowledge on cactus demography, including an analysis of the published information on species with different growth forms and life-history traits. Our review shows that cactus distribution ranges are determined by environmental heterogeneity and by species-specific physiological requirements. Temperature extremes may pose latitudinal and altitudinal distribution limits. At a more local scale, soil properties dramatically affect cactus distribution. Most cacti show a clumped spatial distribution pattern, which may be the reflection of a patchy resource distribution within their heterogeneous environments. The association of cacti with nurse plants is another factor that may account for this aggregated distribution. Many cacti grow in association with these perennial nurse plants, particularl...
Published Version
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