Abstract
The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of environmental and soil factors on the structure and floristic woody composition of oak forests. Oak forests of the Sierra de Zapalinamé in northeastern Mexico (25°N) are distributed in canyons and northwest slopes with higher humidity, surrounded by montane chaparral. We carried out a vegetation inventory across an altitudinal gradient. All trees with diameter at breast height of =>3 cm were identified and measured. In addition, the cover of understory species was measured in each plot. Using multivariate techniques, we detected two oak forest associations: Quercus greggii - Q. mexicana forest and Q. saltillensis - Q. laeta forest. The forests studied are rich in woody species, including 19 tree and 50 shrub species. The number of tree species decreased at lower elevations, but the shrub species increased. Environmental variables evaluated included elevation, precipitation, temperature, soil pH and electrical conductivity, and soil percentage of sand, clay, and silt. All these variables revealed significant differences for the two oak forest associations. With respect to biotic parameters, significant differences (P < 0.05) in basal area were observed. Multivariate analysis revealed the species distribution along a moisture gradient across elevation. The ecological study of oak forests provides the basis for future research on forest dynamics and can guide conservation efforts to maintain species diversity and endemism in the mountain studied.
Highlights
Defined climatic and soil factors are primary determinants of differences in species composition and community structure on undisturbed mountains (Fischer et al, 2014; Toledo-Garibaldi and WilliamsLinera, 2014)
Elevation represents a complex gradient through which environmental variables change simultaneously (Austin et al, 1996)
We graphically presented axis I and axis II of the detrended correspondence analysis (DCA)
Summary
Defined climatic and soil factors are primary determinants of differences in species composition and community structure on undisturbed mountains (Fischer et al, 2014; Toledo-Garibaldi and WilliamsLinera, 2014). The occurrence of plant species is dependent on various factors acting on different spatial scales. Most important are temperature and precipitation (Körner, 2007), both of which influence the available humidity, the properties of soils, and their formation processes (Guerrero-Campo et al, 1999). Edaphic factors have an important role in the distribution and floristic variations and the abundance of plants is closely related to soil properties, especially nutrient availability (Rahayu et al, 2012). Relationships between soil properties and plant species abundance have been described in various grassland habitats
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