Floristic richness in a managed forest in the Sierra Norte de Puebla, México

Abstract

In Mexico, 44% of the area occupied by forest ecosystems is harvested through forest management programs. A recent demand on the forestry sector is to monitor and evaluate the impact of management on vegetation. In order to generate reference information, the floristic composition was described in areas subject to different silvicultural treatments and an area excluded from management, in the ejido Poxcuatzingo, Zacatlán, Puebla. Seventy-five species of phanerogams were recorded. The richest growth form is herbaceous (53 species), followed by shrub (15) and tree (7). The families Asteraceae, Rosaceae and Fagaceae contribute the highest species richness, and areas subject to clear-cutting have the highest species richness. The areas subjected to different silvicultural treatments have a characteristic composition, which is significantly different from the rest. The similarity in floristic composition between different treatments ranges from low to high, and apparently there is no loss of species throughout the rotation in the application of the treatments. It is suggested: 1) to use our results as a regional reference to monitor the impact of forest management on floristic richness, 2) to identify representative areas of silvicultural treatments to describe their composition and use it as reference information for monitoring in other regions.