Plant species composition in a rosetophyllous desert scrub of northern Coahuila, Mexico

Abstract

The Maderas del Carmen Flora and Fauna Pro-tection Area (APFF), located in the state of Coa-huila, is considered a natural reservoir for ro-setophyllous scrub, which has been affected by land use change in northern Mexico. The ob-jective of this work was to describe the current state of the rosetophilous desert scrub in the Maderas del Carmen Flora and Fauna Protec-ted Area, based on its structure, floristic com-position, and diversity. Vegetation was evalua-ted using 35 plots of 5 m x 5 m in 7 linear transects. Height (m), diameter (cm) and crown area (m2) were measured. Abundance, domi-nance and frequency of each species were de-termined to obtain the importance value index (IVI), in addition to the Shannon entropy index (H `) to know the diversity, and the true diver-sity of Shannon (1D). 31 families, 61 genera and 70 species of vascular plants were recorded, in-cluding one endemic to Mexico (Galactia bra-chystachys) and 20 under protection status, such as Agave havardiana, which is also a vulnerable species. The richest families were Fabaceae, As-teraceae, Asparagaceae and Cactaceae. Biologi-cal and life forms were trees and shrubs (48 \%), herbs (36 \%), succulents (13 \%), and climbers (3 \%). The H' was 3.13 and the 1D was 22.87. The rosetophilous scrub of the APFF Maderas del Carmen has a medium-high diversity, it is do-minated by Agave lechuguilla Torr., with greater abundance and IVI. The floristic composition and the diversity found allow a baseline for sub-sequent studies that determine the ecological status of the area. Especially, they allow us to know in greater detail the population dynamics of endemic species and under protection sta-tus, in addition to the habitat for wildlife present in the APFF Maderas del Carmen.