Relationship between landscape heterogeneity and plant species richness on the Mexican Pacific coast

Abstract

The present study aims to use landscape heterogeneity as a predictor of plant species richness in a tropical dry landscape area in the coast of Michoacán, Mexico. To understand the relationship between species richness and landscape, a three-step approach was followed: first, landscape spatial heterogeneity was measured by classifying landscape types according to their attributes (i.e., environmental, soil and topographic variables). Second, several diversity standard indices were used to explore biological diversity and to select the best one explaining the relationship between landscape heterogeneity and plant species richness, for this study area. Third, from the obtained results it was possible to calculate biodiversity values on the basis of landscape heterogeneity. The results indicate that it is possible to predict more than 61% of species richness through an indicator of landscape heterogeneity (H′; Shannon–Weaver diversity index). This procedure may be useful in terms of land use, conservation, and management of protected areas, mainly in areas with high biodiversity but with limited biological data, since it allows to obtain an approximation of the spatial distribution of species richness, even with scarce biological information.