Abstract

SUAREZ-R., Silvia  and  VARGAS-R., Orlando. Floristic composition and ecological relationships of plant species of edge, patches, and remnant trees in a dry tropical forest in Colombia. Implications for ecological restoration. Caldasia [online]. 2019, vol.41, n.1, pp.28-41. ISSN 0366-5232.  https://doi.org/10.15446/caldasia.v41n1.71281.

Dry Tropical Forests (DTF), is one of the most endangered ecosystems in the world due to processes such as fragmentation and habitat lost. Ecological restoration is needed to maintain and to recover the functionality of current forested areas and the ecosystem services offered. Fragmentation has produced a heterogeneous landscape with elements like edges, patches and remnant trees which keep plant species with enormous potential in restoration processes. We studied floristic composition of a dry forest, and structural variables were compared between edge and patches through class distributions. Dispersal syndromes were compared for species growing in each landscape element as well. Detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) were set to obtain species clusters for each element. Structure analyses and dispersal syndromes percentages allowed us to hypothesize about how regeneration patches are formed. Based on this hypothesis, species clusters from DCA, and literature about restoration in tropical forests, we propose three strategies to increase connectivity between landscape elements, to restore the vegetal structure and maintain key tropical dry forest (DTF) species for conservation.

Keywords : Floristic analysis; potential species; restoration strategies.

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