Background:

In the northeast of Coahuila, the Mexican Plateau reaches to the Coastal Plain of Coahuila and Nuevo León. In this region, the tamaulipan thorn scrub is the most common vegetation.

Question:

What is the composition, structure and species richness of vascular plant species of the desert scrub in northern Coahuila?

Species of study and description of data:

Tree, shrubs and herbaceous species of desert scrub. The calculation of structural attributes of the vegetation is included, in addition value of relative importance and evenness.

Study site and year of study:

Study was conducted in municipality of Acuña, on the northern of the state of Coahuila. From April to September 2017.

Methods:

76 circular sites of 100 m2 were established to quantify the shrub species, concentrically sites of 1,000 m2 were used to quantify trees and quadrants of 2 m2 for herbaceous species. Alpha diversity is analyzed in terms of species richness and evenness.

Results:

150 species belonging to 112 genera and 43 families were registered. Four communities of the desert scrub were identified which are semi thorn scrub, rosette desert scrub, microphyllus desert scrub and stream scrub. The microphyllus desert scrub revealed the highest density values (11,816 ind/ha). The stream scrub has the highest density in the tree stratum and has the highest species richness for the tree, shrub and herbaceous strata.

Conclusions:

The composition and structure of the communities from the desert scrub indicates a transition zone between floristic provinces Coastal Plain Northeast and Mexican Plateau at northeast Coahuila.

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