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Journal ArticleDOI

Flora of Chiapas Part 1. Introduction to the Flora of Chiapas@@@Flora of Chiapas Part 2. Pteridophytes

About: This article is published in Kew Bulletin.The article was published on 1983-01-01. It has received 111 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Flora.
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Data is presented showing the significant representation of weeds in the medicinal floras of the Highland Maya in Chiapas, Mexico and in the Medicinal flora of Native North Americans as a whole.

365 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The influence of anthropogenic disturbance on forest structure and composition in the highly populated Montane Rain Forests of northern Chiapas, Mexico was studied, with a high number of understory trees species in QPF, and an impoverished composition in PF.

250 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A general overview of the biological knowledge of the floristic province of the Tehuacan-Cuicatlan Valley in central-southern Mexico is presented in this paper.
Abstract: A general overview of the biological knowledge of the floristic province of the Tehuacan-Cuicatlan Valley in central-southern Mexico is presented. Floristic and faunistic richness and endemism, as well as uses of the flora are analyzed and discussed for this area, recently declared a biosphere reserve. The analysis shows that, in approximately 10 000 km2 the Tehuacan-Cuicatlan Valley contains between 10 and 11.4% of the Mexican flora. In addition, the valley possesses 365 endemic species that represent 13.9% of its flora. With respect to the fauna diversity, the available information is less comprehensive than for plants. Nevertheless, the study shows that the 11 species of amphibians, 48 species of reptiles, and 91 species of birds recorded for the valley surpasses the diversity found in other dry-lands of the world. In relationship to the mammals of the region, the available data are poor for most of the groups except for bats, for which 24 species have been reported. Regarding the use of the flora, the analysis revealed that 815 species are utilized by the people in the valley. A discussion related to future research activities is also included.

202 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Deforestation rates and land-use changes related to environmental factors (slope angle and soil type), in addition to some local population and economic attributes, were estimated from Landsat MSS satellite images of two municipalities of different sizes and for a greater portion of the highlands of Chiapas, Mexico as discussed by the authors.

170 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Assessment of regional patterns in the distribution and species richness of vascular epiphytes with an emphasis on forests that differ in altitude and the amount of rainfall in Chiapas confirmed the presumed presence of a belt of high diversity at mid-elevations in neotropical mountains.
Abstract: Aim We aim to assess regional patterns in the distribution and species richness of vascular epiphytes with an emphasis on forests that differ in altitude and the amount of rainfall. Location Tropical America, in particularly the 75000 km2 large state of Chiapas in southern Mexico at 14.5-18.0o N. Chiapas is diverse in habitats with forests from sea-level to the tree-line at approximately 3800 m altitude and with annual amounts of rainfall ranging from 800 to over 5000 mm. It is also one of the botanical best-explored regions in the tropics. Methods First we give an overview of epiphyte inventories to date. Such epiphyte surveys were mostly carried out on the basis of surface area or individual trees and we discuss their problematic comparison. Applying a different methodological approach, next we used 12276 unique vascular epiphyte plant collections from Chiapas that are deposited in various botanical collections. The locality data were georeferenced and compiled in a relational database that was analysed using a Geographic Information System. To compare the number of species between inventories that differed in the numbers of records, we estimated the total richness, SChao, at each. Results We recorded 1173 vascular epiphyte species in 39 families (23 angiosperms), comprising c. 14% of all confirmed plant species in the state. About half of all species were orchids (568). Ferns and bromeliads were the next species rich groups with 244 and 101 species, respectively. Most species were found in the Montane Rain Forest and in the Central Plateau. Trees of different forest formations, rainfall regimes, altitudes and physiographic regions supported a characteristic epiphyte flora. Main conclusions We were able to confirm the presumed presence of a belt of high diversity at mid-elevations (500 - 2000 m) in neotropical mountains. In contrast to predictions, however, we observed a decrease in diversity when the annual amount of rainfall exceeded 2500 mm. The decrease is attributed to wind-dispersed orchids, bromeliads and Pteridophyta that may find establishment problematical under frequent downpours. In the wet but seasonal forests in Chiapas, this decrease is not compensated by plants in the animal-dispersed Araceae that are abundant elsewhere. We presume that in addition to the annual amount of rainfall, its distribution in time determines the composition of the epiphyte community.

154 citations

References
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Data is presented showing the significant representation of weeds in the medicinal floras of the Highland Maya in Chiapas, Mexico and in the Medicinal flora of Native North Americans as a whole.

365 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The influence of anthropogenic disturbance on forest structure and composition in the highly populated Montane Rain Forests of northern Chiapas, Mexico was studied, with a high number of understory trees species in QPF, and an impoverished composition in PF.

250 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A general overview of the biological knowledge of the floristic province of the Tehuacan-Cuicatlan Valley in central-southern Mexico is presented in this paper.
Abstract: A general overview of the biological knowledge of the floristic province of the Tehuacan-Cuicatlan Valley in central-southern Mexico is presented. Floristic and faunistic richness and endemism, as well as uses of the flora are analyzed and discussed for this area, recently declared a biosphere reserve. The analysis shows that, in approximately 10 000 km2 the Tehuacan-Cuicatlan Valley contains between 10 and 11.4% of the Mexican flora. In addition, the valley possesses 365 endemic species that represent 13.9% of its flora. With respect to the fauna diversity, the available information is less comprehensive than for plants. Nevertheless, the study shows that the 11 species of amphibians, 48 species of reptiles, and 91 species of birds recorded for the valley surpasses the diversity found in other dry-lands of the world. In relationship to the mammals of the region, the available data are poor for most of the groups except for bats, for which 24 species have been reported. Regarding the use of the flora, the analysis revealed that 815 species are utilized by the people in the valley. A discussion related to future research activities is also included.

202 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Deforestation rates and land-use changes related to environmental factors (slope angle and soil type), in addition to some local population and economic attributes, were estimated from Landsat MSS satellite images of two municipalities of different sizes and for a greater portion of the highlands of Chiapas, Mexico as discussed by the authors.

170 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Assessment of regional patterns in the distribution and species richness of vascular epiphytes with an emphasis on forests that differ in altitude and the amount of rainfall in Chiapas confirmed the presumed presence of a belt of high diversity at mid-elevations in neotropical mountains.
Abstract: Aim We aim to assess regional patterns in the distribution and species richness of vascular epiphytes with an emphasis on forests that differ in altitude and the amount of rainfall. Location Tropical America, in particularly the 75000 km2 large state of Chiapas in southern Mexico at 14.5-18.0o N. Chiapas is diverse in habitats with forests from sea-level to the tree-line at approximately 3800 m altitude and with annual amounts of rainfall ranging from 800 to over 5000 mm. It is also one of the botanical best-explored regions in the tropics. Methods First we give an overview of epiphyte inventories to date. Such epiphyte surveys were mostly carried out on the basis of surface area or individual trees and we discuss their problematic comparison. Applying a different methodological approach, next we used 12276 unique vascular epiphyte plant collections from Chiapas that are deposited in various botanical collections. The locality data were georeferenced and compiled in a relational database that was analysed using a Geographic Information System. To compare the number of species between inventories that differed in the numbers of records, we estimated the total richness, SChao, at each. Results We recorded 1173 vascular epiphyte species in 39 families (23 angiosperms), comprising c. 14% of all confirmed plant species in the state. About half of all species were orchids (568). Ferns and bromeliads were the next species rich groups with 244 and 101 species, respectively. Most species were found in the Montane Rain Forest and in the Central Plateau. Trees of different forest formations, rainfall regimes, altitudes and physiographic regions supported a characteristic epiphyte flora. Main conclusions We were able to confirm the presumed presence of a belt of high diversity at mid-elevations (500 - 2000 m) in neotropical mountains. In contrast to predictions, however, we observed a decrease in diversity when the annual amount of rainfall exceeded 2500 mm. The decrease is attributed to wind-dispersed orchids, bromeliads and Pteridophyta that may find establishment problematical under frequent downpours. In the wet but seasonal forests in Chiapas, this decrease is not compensated by plants in the animal-dispersed Araceae that are abundant elsewhere. We presume that in addition to the annual amount of rainfall, its distribution in time determines the composition of the epiphyte community.

154 citations