Resumo

SARMIENTO-MUNOZ, Tania Isela; ALANIS-RODRIGUEZ, Eduardo; MATA-BALDERAS, José Manuel  e  MORA-OLIVO, Arturo. Structure and diversity of the woody vegetation in a Tamaulipas thornscrub with livestock activity in Nuevo León, Mexico. CienciaUAT [online]. 2019, vol.14, n.1, pp.31-44.  Epub 03-Ago-2020. ISSN 2007-7858.  https://doi.org/10.29059/cienciauat.v14i1.1001.

In the northeastern region of Mexico, there is an increase in the establishment of grasslands for livestock, which has created changes in the structure and floristic diversity of ecosystem. The aim of this study was to determine the structure and diversity of the woody species vegetation of an area of Tamaulipas thorn-scrub (MET) which was modified for livestock rising in Nuevo Leon, Mexico, to establish whether or not the changes have contributed to the conservation of plant diversity. The livestock activity practiced in the researched area is mixed purpose use at a moderate intensity, with a thinning treatment at the lower vegetation layer (d ˂ 5 cm) to create open areas for cattle grazing in the study area. Four sampling plots of 1 600 m2 each were selected. Dasometric measures were recorded and ecological indexes were estimated. The results are a record of 8 families, 16 genus and 17 species of trees and shrubs. The absolute density was 309/ha, while the estimated canopy area was 9 521.83 m2/ha. Richness (Da = 3.03) and species diversity (H’ = 2.31) resulted in similar values to scrubs with nonproductive activity. Species with the greatest IVI are characteristic of the MET: Prosopis laevigata (IVI = 28.59), Havardia pallens (IVI = 13.41) and Cordia boissieri (IVI = 8.89), from which, Prosopis laevigata is considered as a species for forage use. We conclude that the composition of the tree and shrub species in this livestock rising system contributes to preserving the desirable attributes of the native vegetation communities, such as richness and species diversity, density and canopy area.

Palavras-chave : thinning; richness; livestock use; conservation attributes.

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