Abstract

UGALDE AVILA, Jesús; GRANADOS-SANCHEZ, Diódoro  and  SANCHEZ-GONZALEZ, Arturo. Succession in the Microphyll Desert Scrub of Larrea tridentata (DC.) Cov. in the Sierra de Catorce, San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Terra Latinoam [online]. 2008, vol.26, n.2, pp.153-160. ISSN 2395-8030.

In the Sierra de Catorce, San Luis Potosi, Mexico, the regeneration process of microphyll desert scrub (MDS) dominated by Larrea tridentata (D.C.) Cov. was studied. Seven sample sites were selected for the field work. These sites had been affected by agricultural activities from one to 50 years. In each site five 4 m² plots were established in which composition and density of the shrub and herbaceous species were determined. Furthermore, some edaphic variables were quantified. Chrono-sequential and multivariate analysis suggested that in the MDS the ecological succession process does not occur in the classical sense in which more or less definite species ensembles are replaced by other ensembles until a mature community is shaped. Instead, auto-succession occurred: most of the colonizing species were dominant in all the plots of the analyzed chrono-sequence and in the mature community. Species composition and recovery time after disturbance were correlated with changes in edaphic characteristics, mainly within the hydrogen potential values, organic matter, and soil cations. L. tridentata and other structurally important species showed characteristics of both pioneer and climax species in the chrono-sequence, which suggests that biotic interactions are important in the regeneration time of MDS in the semiarid areas of Mexico.

Keywords : semiarid lands; ordination; chronosequences; auto-succession; creosote bush.

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