Relacion entre la vegetacion arbustiva, el mezquite y el suelo de un ecosistema semiarido en Mexico | Relationship between shrub vegetation, mesquite and soil of a semiarid ecosystem in Mexico
2006
Montano-Aris, N.M. | Garcia-Sanchez, R. | Ochoa-de la Rosa, G. | Monroy-Ata, A.
Our study examines the relationship between shrub vegetation, mesquite plants and soil properties of two tropical semiarid scrubs in the Mesquital Valley, Mexico. In each scrub population (Santiago de Anaya = SA, year 2000; Gonzalez-Ortega = GO, years 2000 and 1990) the species diversity (index H'), shrub vegetation structure, and importance value (IV) for species were determined. Soil under the mesquite canopy and outside the canopy area was sampled in the three tropical scrubs populations, and subjected to physical and chemical analyses. A total of 36 species, 23 genera, and eight families were registered. The family with more species was Cactaceae (15 spp.), while the Leguminosae was the most important. For the tropical scrubs, mesquite had the highest IV (23.7%) and cover. Shrub vegetation foliage cover and density of shrubs were high in SA, 2000, intermediate in GO, 1990, and very low in GO, 2000. The number of species in SA, 2000 y GO, 1990 was 29 and 27, and only 11 in GO, 2000. Species diversity in SA, 2000 was higher and not different from GO, 1990 (H'= 2.5 and 2.3, respectively) but different from GO, 2000 (H'= 1.3). The similarity of species suggests that GO, 2000 has lost 66% of its species. In soil, organic matter (OM) and organic carbon (OC), levels were higher in the populations with the greater plant cover (SA, 2000 and GO, 1990) and lower in that with less vegetation (GO, 2000). Mesquite increases soil P and N levels and decreases Ca, Mg, and CO3 concentrations. Disturbance, such as logging for 10 years in GO, 2000, reduce shrub vegetation, soil OM, OC, N, and P, while the mesquite favors soil fertility of these semiarid scrub populations.
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