Abstract

WEHNCKE, Elisabet V.; REBMAN, Jon; LOPEZ-MEDELLIN, Xavier  and  EZCURRA, Exequiel. Sierra de La Libertad: a major transition between two desert regions in Baja California, Mexico. Bot. sci [online]. 2012, vol.90, n.3, pp.239-261. ISSN 2007-4476.

The Sierra de La Libertad, a group of prominent mesas and canyons in the Central Desert region of Baja California, is one of the most isolated and overlooked areas in the peninsula. For centuries no other explorations have entered this area with a scientific interest, and efforts to delimit its biogeographic boundaries are done mostly by extrapolating data from global information systems and from records in adjacent areas. This sierra constitutes one of the most problematic transition areas among specialists who try to delimit the ecoregions of the peninsula. We conducted two biological expeditions to the Sierra de La Libertad in order to document and describe the plant communities associated with the blue fan palm oases in this remote area. A total of 351 plant species were registered of which, 60 constitute new records for the northern state (Baja California) and two are new species to science. Additionally, in this transition area we found 45 regional and seven local endemics. Scientific expeditions to remote places are still significant endeavors for better understanding biogeography, ecology, taxonomy, and ultimately conservation of biodiversity, and these ventures are of particular importance in little known desert ecotone areas such as the Sierra de La Libertad.

Keywords : biodiversity; blue fan palm; Central Desert; desert oases; Vizcaíno Desert.

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