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The cloud forest (cf) (sensu Rzedowski 1978a) is a set of plant communities distributed along the mountains, having diverse structures, floristic affinities and species compositions (CONABIO 2010). They have a discontinuous distribution, but they occupy an area of 0.5 to 1 % of the national territory (González-Espinosa et al. 2011, Gual-Díaz & González-Medrano 2014). The cf concentrate a high floristic richness which goes from 2,500 to 2,822 species; the highest per unit of surface among all vegetation types in Mexico (Rzedowski 1996, Villaseñor 2010). The largest extension of cf is located in the Sierra Madre Oriental, the Sierra Norte de Oaxaca, the Sierra Madre del Sur, the Northern Chiapas mountains and the Sierra Madre de Chiapas (González-Espinosa et al. 2011). This vegetation is severely threatened due to land use change, which has reduced its original cover by half (Challenger 1998) and due to only 12 % of the cover in Mexico being protected (Ponce-Reyes et al. 2012).
Studies on cf have focused on both floristic and structural aspects in at least 83 localities in the country (Ruiz-Jiménez et al. 2012), but specially in Chiapas (Ramírez-Marcial 2001), State of Mexico (López-Pérez et al. 2011), Guerrero (Meave et al. 1992; Catalán-Everástio et al. 2003), Hidalgo (Luna et al. 1994, Alcántara-Ayala & Luna-Vega 2001, Ponce-Vargas et al. 2006), Jalisco (Sánchez-Rodríguez et al. 2003), Oaxaca (Acosta-Castellanos 1997, Mejía-Domínguez et al. 2004, Ruiz-Jiménez et al. 2000, Lorea & Munn 2005), Morelos (Luna-Vega et al. 1989), Querétaro (Cartujano et al. 2002) and Tamaulipas (Cavazos-Camacho 2000).
In the state of Veracruz, the cf covers approximately 135,271 ha, with approximately 2,028 plant species (Castillo-Campos et al. 2011). The majority of the 19 studies on this vegetation type focus on the central zone of the state (Ruiz-Jiménez et al. 2012). The Sierra de Zongolica, located in the central zone of the state, is part of the physiographic province of the Sierra Madre del Sur (Medina-Chena et al. 2010). The biological exploration of the zone has been focused mainly on the knowledge of birds being proposed as an Important Area for Bird Conservation (AICA 15 Sierra de Zongolica) (Arizmendi & Márquez-Valdemar 2000).
Regarding the botanical studies of the Sierra de Zongolica, Vázquez-Torres (1977) identified six vegetation types and contributed a list of 290 species. The floristic studies have mainly focused on the study of the epiphytes of the cloud forest in La Quinta Ecological Reserve, Zongolica (Flores-Méndez 2008, Viccon-Esquivel 2009). Etnobotanical studies of the region emphasize the cultural richness in Tlaquilpa (Pérez-Pacheco 1992, López & Reyes 1997), Astacinga (Navarro-Pérez & Avendaño-Reyes 2002), Soledad Atzompa (Trueba-Sánchez 2009) and Tequila (Mata-Labrada 2011, Martínez-Bolaños 2012). Montoy-Koh (2010) recorded 94 plant species in the Sierra de Zongolica useful for bees (Apis mellifera L.) 69 of them from the cf.
In the study of the cf of Mexico, CONABIO (2010) classifies the forests of the Huautla-Zongolica subregion of Sierra Norte de Oaxaca, where the area of this study is located, as forests of low quality and under a high threat, since the area is highly affected by degradation processes and by deforestation due to the demand of agricultural lands.
As a contribution to evaluate the plant richness of the Bicentenario Reserve, and to know the value for conservation we aim: i) to know the floristic composition of the BR, ii) to know the growth forms of the area, and iii) to document if there are endemic and/or threatened species to the area.
Material and methods
Area of study. The Bicentenario Reserve (Figure 1) is located northeast of the municipality of Zongolica (Figure 1B), between 18° 39’ 01.89” and 18° 39’ 27.36” North and 97° 00’ 35.6” and 97° 0’ 55.62” West, along an altitudinal interval of 1,313 to 1,560 m. It belongs to the Instituto Tecnológico Superior of Zongolica (Figure 2A) and was decreed as an Área Privada de Conservación on March 30th, 2009; it benefits about 2,000 inhabitants (Rodríguez-Luna et al. 2011). The Reserve has an extension of 63 ha and is divided in three zones: Core Area, Multiple Use Zone and Buffer Zone (Figure 1). The Reserve borders the ejido Olla Chica to the East and Northeast, whilst the rest adjoins private terrains.
Figure 1 Area of study. A) Location of the Bicentenario Reserve. B) Zonification (map modified from the one from the ITZ).
Figure 2 Area of study. A) View of the Instituto Tecnológico and the Reserve surroundings. B) La Compañía stream. C) Agave gomez-pompae, endemic species to Amatlán and Zongolica, Veracruz.
Physiographically, the Bicentenario Reserve is located in the province of the Sierra Madre del Sur, within the subprovince of the Sierras Orientales, whose northern portion is known as Sierra de Zongolica, which is less abrupt than the rest of the subprovince and where Cretaceous calcareous rocks predominate, giving it affinity to the Sierra Madre Oriental (Medina-Chena et al. 2010). The soil is a luvisol (INEGI 2009).
According to data from the Zongolica meteorological station (18° 40’ 00” N, 97° 00’ 00” W; 1,294 meters above sea level), the climate is humid template with rains along the year. The mean annual precipitation is 2,770 mm, and the mean annual temperature is 17.5 ºC, being May the warmest month (26.4 ºC) and February the coldest (7.7 ºC). The mean annual number of days with mist is 48.4 (SMN, 2014) and the climate formula is C(fm)b(e) (García 1973). Regarding hydrography, the La Compañía stream is located in the southeastern limit of the area of study (Figure 2B).
Field- and deskwork. We explored the Bicentenario Reserve from March 2011 to October 2012 during nine field walks, lasting two to four days each. All the paths of the Reserve were walked in each visit. The entire plants in the case of herbs or branches of shrubs and trees, were collected from species considered distinctively different along the paths, selecting the individuals in the best state of flowering and/or fructification. The botanical samples collected were pressed in the field and dried out later at the Herbario Nacional de Mexico (MEXU). The specimens were identified in the Departamento de Botánica, in the Instituto de Biología, UNAM, with the available tools, such as electronic keys; Milliken et al. 2009 onwards, Nixon 2001-2002; regional floras, especially the Flora de Veracruz (Gómez-Pompa & Sosa 1978-1991, Sosa 1992-2005; Castillo-Campos 2006-2013), Flora of Guatemala (McVaugh 1963, Nash & Williams 1976, Standley & Steyermark 1946-1958, Standley & Williams 1961-1962, 1975. Standley et al. 1970-1974,), Flora del Bajío y de Regiones Adyacentes (Rzedowski & Calderón de Rzedowski 1985-2013), Flora Mesoamericana (Davidse et al. 1994, 1995, 2009, 2012), Flora de Nicaragua (Stevens et al. 2009), and specialized literature such as The Pteridophytes of Mexico (Mickel & Smith 2004), Trees and Shrubs of Mexico (Standley 1920-1926); species revisions and plant descriptions (e.g. Rzedowski 1978b, Zavala-Chávez 1989, Valencia 1995, González-Villarreal 2005, McMillan et al. 2006, Ibarra-Manríquez et al. 2012). Determinations were checked against specimens at MEXU, and images of mainly type specimens from electronic pages such as Tropicos.org and JSTOR Global Plants (2000-2013). In the cases of problematic specimens for determination experts in several groups were consulted (see acknowledgements).
In order to know the areas of distribution of the species founded in the BR, the same references used for specimen determination were consulted, as well as Luna-Vega et al. (2004), Villaseñor (2010), González-Espinosa et al. (2011), Viccon-Esquivel & Krömer (2012), Vergara-Rodríguez (2013). In order to know the risk categories of the species in the Bicentenario Reserve, the Norma Oficial Mexicana-NOM 059 (SEMARNAT 2010) and The Red List of Mexican Cloud Forest Trees (González-Espinosa et al. 2011) were consulted.
The first duplicates of the voucher specimens were deposited in MEXU. Duplicates of these vouchers were deposited in the Instituto Tecnológico Superior de Zongolica (ITZ), the Herbario del Instituto de Ecología A.C. (XAL), and the Missouri Botanical Garden (MO).
The list of the species identified follows APG III (Stevens 2001 onwards) for the Angiosperm families, and Mickel & Smith (2004) for pteridophytes. The species are listed alphabetically by the groups Monilophyta, Lycopodiophyta, Pinophyta and Magnoliophyta. The species names were standardized according to The International Plant Name Index.
Results
Floristic Composition. We collected 641 botanical specimens which represent 102 families, 272 genera and 401 species (Appendix 1 and Table 1). Among the groups of vascular plants, Magnoliophyta is the most numerous, followed by Monilophyta and Lycopodiophyta, whilst Pinophyta is represented by only one species (Table 1). Regarding the species number, the most diverse families are Orchidaceae with 36 (9 %), Asteraceae with 30 (7.5 %), Fabaceae with 22 (5.5 %), Rubiaceae and Polypodiaceae both with 17 each (4.2 %), Bromeliaceae with 16 (4 %), Piperaceae with 15 (3.7 %), Malvaceae and Solanaceae both with 13 each (3.2 %) and Fagaceae with 11 (2.7 %). The rest of the families includes 211 species, corresponding to 52.6 % (Table 2). The most rich families in number of genera are Asteraceae with 27 (9.9 %), Orchidaceae with 23 (8.5 %), Fabaceae with 18 (6.6 %), Rubiaceae with 16 (5.9 %), Malvaceae with 7 (2.6 %), Polypodiaceae and Poaceae both with 6 each (2.2 %), Lamiaceae, Melastomataceae, Pteridaceae and Urticaceae all with 5 each (1.8 %); the remaining families have 149 genera, representing 54.8 % (Table 2). The genera with the largest number of species are Peperomia, Quercus, Tillandsia, Polypodium and Solanum (Table 2). The predominant growth form is herbaceous with 135 species (33.67 %), followed by trees with 82 (20.45 %), epiphytes with 79 (19.70 %), shrubs with 72 (17.96 %), climbers with 29 (7.23 %), arborescent with 2 (0.50 %), holoparasites and hemiparasites both with 1 (0.25 %) species each (Table 3).
Table 1 Vascular plant richness (percent in parenthesis) in the Bicentenario Reserve, Zongolica, Veracruz.
| Group | Number of species | Number of genera | Number of families | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monilophyta | 42 | (10.47) | 26 | (9.56) | 12 | (11.77) |
| Lycopodiophyta | 3 | (0.75) | 2 | (0.74) | 2 | (1.96) |
| Pinophyta | 1 | (0.25) | 1 | (0.37) | 1 | (0.98) |
| Magnoliophyta | 355 | (88.53) | 243 | (89.34) | 87 | (85.29) |
| TOTAL | 401 | 272 | 102 | |||
Table 2 Families and genera with the highest number of species in the Bicentenario Reserve, Zongolica, Veracruz.
| Family | Number of genera/species |
Genus (Family) | Number of species |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asteraceae | 27/30 | Peperomia (Piperaceae) | 11 |
| Orchidaceae | 23/36 | Quercus (Fagaceae) | 11 |
| Fabaceae | 18/22 | Tillandsia (Bromeliaceae) | 11 |
| Rubiaceae | 16/17 | Polypodium (Polypodiaceae) | 9 |
| Malvaceae | 7/13 | Solanum (Solanaceae) | 7 |
| Polypodiaceae | 6/17 | Salvia (Lamiaceae) | 5 |
| Poaceae | 6/8 | Miconia (Melastomataceae) | 4 |
| Lamiaceae | 5/10 | Epidendrum y Prosthechea (Orchidaceae) | 4/4 |
| Melastomataceae | 5/8 | Smilax (Smilacaceae) | 4 |
| Pteridaceae | 5/6 | Piper (Piperaceae) | 4 |
| Urticaceae | 5/6 | Ipomoea (Convolvulaceae) | 4 |
| Bromeliaceae | 4/16 | Maxillaria y Jacquiniella (Orchidaceae) | 3/3 |
| Solanaceae | 4/13 | Saurauia (Actinidiaceae) | 3 |
| Piperaceae | 2/15 | Cestrum (Solanaceae) | 3 |
| Fagaceae | 1/11 | Desmodium (Fabaceae) | 3 |
| Total | 134/227 | Total | 93 |
Table 3 Life forms in the Bicentenario Reserve, Zongolica, Veracruz.
| Growth forms | Number of species |
|---|---|
| Herb | 135 |
| Tree | 82 |
| Epiphyte | 79 |
| Shrub | 72 |
| Climber | 29 |
| Arborescent | 2 |
| Hemiparasite | 1 |
| Holoparasite | 1 |
| Total | 401 |
Forest characterization. Trees of Liquidambar styraciflua up to 20 meters height are better represented in the core area, while in the lowest part of the Reserve and along the La Compañía stream (Figure 2B), Platanus mexicana is the tallest tree. In the buffer zone Pinus pseudostrobus var. apulcensis is among the tallest trees with approximately 18 m. This layer is composed by species of Carpinus, Citharexylum, Clethra (Figure. 3I), Clusia (Figure 3F), Cornus, Hedyosmum, Myriocarpa, Myrsine, Ocotea, Oreopanax, Ostrya, Phyllonoma (Figure 3E), Picramnia, Prunus, Quercus, Rhamnus, Saurauia, Symplocos, Ternstroemia, Trema, Turpinia, Viburnum, etc. Species of Bunchosia, Deppea, Erythrina, Hampea, Heliocarpus, Ilex, Juglans, Litsea, Nectandra (Figure 3A), Nyssa, and Tilia can also be found. Arborescent ferns species of Alsophila and Cyathea up to 3 or 4 meters height can be found. Towards the lowest parts of the Reserve, species of Ficus are present while in the southeastern slope close to the La Compañia stream (Figure 2B) we find Arachnothryx aff. buddleioides, Myrcianthes fragans, Perrottetia longistylis, Platanus mexicana, Siparuna thecaphora and Sommera arborescens.
Figure 3 Some species of the flora of the Bicentenario Reserve. A) Nectandra salicifolia, near threatened. B) Iresine hebanthoides, endemic to México. C) Phyllonoma laticuspis, vulnerable. D) Passiflora adenopoda. E) Moussonia deppeana. F) Clusia flava. G) Begonia barkeri, endemic to Veracruz and Puebla. H) Gelsemium sempervirens. I) Clethra macrophylla, endemic to México. Photographies A-F by Helga Ochoterena Booth, G. by Alejandro Torres Montúfar, and H by Luis Alfonso Castillo-Hernández.
In the more pronounced slopes, rupicolous species, such as Agave ellemeetiana, A. gomezpompae (Figure 2C), Echeveria rubromarginata and Tillandsia grandis are found. The epiphytes are very rich, growing in dense groups on the trunks and branches of the trees; among them there are many orchids, bromeliads, ferns and Piperaceae and Araceae species from the genera Asplenium, Brassia, Campyloneurum, Catopsis, Elaphoglossum, Epidendrum, Huperzia, Jacquiniella, Maxillaria, Monstera, Nidema, Peperomia, Phlebodium, Polypodium, Sedum, Sobralia and Tillandsia. The holoparasites and hemiparasites found in the Reserve are Conopholis alpina and Phoradendron nervosum, respectively, the latter being better represented in the zones where the Reserve borders with coffee plantations and paths.
The buffer zone and borders of the Reserve, have species of shrubs of the genera Aphelandra, Ardisia, Bartlettina, Cestrum, Chiococca, Conostegia, Gaultheria, Lepidaploa, Lyonia, Miconia, Mimosa, Moussonia (Figure 3E), Palicourea, Piper, Psychotria, Rogiera, Xylosma and Zapoteca. Among the climbers, both the herbaceous and woody ones, the best represented are Archibaccharis schiedeana, Cologania broussonetii, Clitoria mexicana, Gelsemium sempervirens (Figure 3H), Helicotropis linearis, Iresine hebanthoides (Figure 3B), Passiflora adenophora (Figure 3D), Rhynchosia longeracemosa, Selenicereus hamathus, Smilax spp, Toxicodendron radicans, Valeriana candolleana and Vitis spp. The herbaceous plants are species of Achimenes, Anthurium, Begonia (Figure 3G), Chamaedorea, Coccocypselum, Cuphea, Desmodium, Elaphoglossum, Govenia, Habenaria, Lisianthus, Oldenlandia, Peperomia, Polypodium, Salvia, Sticherus, Thelypteris, Tradescantia and Tripogandra in addition to species of Asteraceae.
Species under risk category. Out of the 401 species collected in the Reserve, 86 of them (21.44 %) are included in some of the categories in the NOM 059 (SEMARNAT 2010) or in The Red List of Mexican Cloud Forest Trees (González-Espinosa et al. 2011); four of them are cited in both lists: Litsea glaucescens, Juglans pyriformis, Carpinus caroliniana and Ostrya virginiana. Ten species are listed under some of the risk categories proposed in the NOM 059 (SEMARNAT 2010); two of them are in risk of extinction (P): Litsea glaucescens and Tilia americana var. mexicana; five are threatened (A): Psilotum complanatum, Juglans pyriformis, Chamaedorea schiedeana, Carpinus carolianiana and Tillandsia tricolor, whilst three are under special protection: (Pr) Cyathea divergens var. tuerckheimii, Alsophila firma and Ostrya virginiana. Out of the 80 species found in The Red List of Mexican Cloud Forest Trees categories (González-Espinosa et al. 2011), seven of them are Endangered (EN), 19 Vulnerable (VU), 10 Near Threatened (NT), 43 Least Concern (LC) and one Data Deficient (DD) (see Appendix 1).
Endemism. The Bicentenario Reserve contains 69 species that distributes only within the borders of Mexico and represent the 17.2 % of the total found species (see Appendix 1). Six of them are known only from some parts of the state of Veracruz: Agave gomez-pompae (Figure 2C) from Amatlán and Zongolica; Clethra tuxtlensis from Los Tuxtlas and Zongolica; Erythrina berenices from Chiconquiaco, Yecuatla, Xalapa, San Andrés Tuxtla and Zongolica; Quercus ghiesbreghtii from Yecuatla, Ixhuatlán de los Reyes and Zongolica, as well as Hampea integerrima and Cuphea nitidula which are known from the central zone of the state.
New records. In the Bicentenario Reserve, were found 23 species that extend its distribution into the municipality of Zongolica. For example, Quercus furfuraceae is a new report for the state of Veracruz, since its distribution was considered previously only for Michoacán, Puebla (Valencia-A 2004), Oaxaca and San Luis Potosí (Villaseñor 2010). Quercus dysophylla was only known from the municipalities of Acultzingo, Huayacocotla and Tlalnelhuayocan, Veracruz; Quercus ghiesbreghtii, was only known from Yecuatla and Ixhuatlan de los Reyes, Veracruz, and it is the first record in a cloud forest, since it is not cited for this type of vegetation by Villaseñor (2010) or Valencia-A & Gual-Díaz (2014). Other species that extend their distribution into the Zongolica municipality in the present contribution are Cornus excelsa known from Huayacocotla, Orizaba and Xalapa, Gelsemium semprevirens from Acajete, Atzalan, Banderilla, Calcahualco, Chiconquiaco, Coatepec, Huayacocotla, Huatusco, Jilotepec, Naolinco, Rafael Lucio, Soteapan, Tlacolulan, Tlalnelhuayocan, Xalapa and Xico, Nyssa sylvatica from Atzalan, Peperomia consoquitlana from Atoyac, Coatepec, Ixtaczoquitlan, Jilotepec, Naolinco, Orizaba, San Andrés Tuxtla and Xalapa, P. epidendron from Orizaba, Tenochtitlan, Tlacotepec de Mejia and Totula, Ponthieva rinconii from Coetzala, Racinaea ghiesbreghtii from Coatepec, Huatusco, Jilotepec, Tlalnelhuayocan, Xalapa and Xico.
Discussion
In the Bicentenario Reserve a group of families that Rzedowski (1996) considered as thriving preferentially in the cloud forest, or whose genera can thrive exclusively or almost exclusively in the cloud forest, is found. Among the former, there are Actinidiaceae, Aquifoliaceae, Begoniaceae, Clethraceae, Cornaceae, Cyatheaceae, Gesneriaceae, Gleicheniaceae, Lauraceae, Lycopodiaceae, Marattiaceae, Monimiaceae, Myrsinaceae, Orchidaceae, Piperaceae, Selaginellaceae, Staphyleaceae, Symplocaceae and Theaceae (Pentaphylacaceae). And among the ones whose genera thrive in the cloud forest are Chloranthaceae, Hamamelidaceae (=Altingiaceae) and Nyssaceae (=Cornaceae). Some of the tree genera with a quantitatively importance in the cloud forest (Rzedowski 1996) found in the Bicentenario Reserve are Alnus, Carpinus, Clethra, Cornus, Juglans, Liquidambar, Nyssa, Oreopanax, Prunus, Quercus, Symplocos and Ternstroemia.
The cf of the Bicentenario Reserve contains a rich floristic composition with at least 401 species of vascular plants, representing the 16.4 % of the floristic richness estimated for this vegetation type in Mexico by Rzedowski (1996), or 14.21 % of the richness estimated by Villaseñor (2010) and the 19.77 % out of the total species number recorded in the cf in the state of Veracruz (Castillo-Campos et al. 2011). This richness is high, taking into account the reduced sampling area (63 ha = 0.63 km2) compared to other areas studied in the state of Veracruz, such as Teocelo, where Luna et al. (1988) recorded 271 species in approximately 21 km2 (= 2,100 ha); Huayacocotla, where Juárez-Medina (2008) recorded 494 species from the information of three previous works and their samplings in 20 km2 (= 2,000 ha), or La Cortadura, Coatepec, where García-Franco et al. (2008) recorded 258 species in 3,000 m2 (= 0.3 ha, = 0.003 Km2). In Hidalgo, 336 species were recorded in Tlanchinol (Luna et al. 1994), 359 in Lolotla (Ponce-Vargas et al. 2006), 287 in Eloxochitlan and 233 in Tahuelompa (Alcántara-Ayala & Luna-Vega 2001). In the cf of Landa de Matamoros (Querétaro), Cartujano et al. (2002) recorded 774 species while studying an area of approximately 54 km2 and a greater sampling effort, with 14 monthly field walks, from March 1998 to April 2000, each lasting four to five days.
The high number of fern species (pteridophytes and related) found in the Bicentenario Reserve can be an indicator that the forest is conserved, since ferns require very particular environmental conditions for their growth, such as intense shade and high humidity (Williams-Linera 2012). These are the reasons for which ferns are represented by a larger number of species in the cf than in any other vegetation type (Challenger 1998). The presence of arborescent ferns in the Reserve shows low perturbation conditions for a long time period, in addition to them being a distinctive characteristic of the cf, due to their absence in any other type of primary vegetation (Challenger 1998, Luna et al. 2001).
Regarding growth forms, the highest numbers of species are herbs, which are better represented in the buffer zone, since logging and transit of people are common in this part of the Reserve. The borders of the Reserve favor the diversification of herbs, whereas in the core area a lower number of herbs was found. Luna et al. (2001) consider that the low amount of light penetrating the cf prevents the development and diversification of herbs, whereas its development is favored in the margins and they diversify as the disturbance increases.
The sampling of Quercus furfuracea for the first time in the state of Veracruz, of Quercus ghiesbreghtii for the first time in a cf, as well as of Peperomia consoquitlana, P. epidendron, Quercus dysophylla, Q. ghiesbreghtii, and other species which extend their known distribution into the Zongolica municipality exemplifies the need to explore the zone, which would remarkably improve the phytogeographical analyses.
It is interesting to emphasize that in the taxonomical treatments of some families of the Flora de Veracruz the presence of some species is not recorded for Zongolica, so they also extend their distribution into this municipality (e.g., Cornus excelsa, Nyssa sylvatica, Racinaea ghiesbreghtii and Gelsemium semprevirens). In this work, species of epiphytes not recorded by Flores-Méndez (2008), Viccon-Esquivel (2009), or Viccon-Esquivel & Krömer (2012) for Zongolica were found. Among them Asplenium praemorsum, Catopsis morreniana, Dryopteris patula, Echeveria rosea, Mainthemum macrophyllum, Maxillaria cucullata, Myoxanthus congestus, Peperomia galioides, P. pililimba, P. rhexiifolia, Polypodium fraternum, P. plesiosorum, Prosthechea cochleata, P. chondylobulbon, Sedum botterii, Stelis emarginata, Tillandsia leiboldiana and Xylobium sulfurinum, increasing the epiphyte diversity in the municipality, even though the mentioned authors reported a greater number of species not found in the area of study.
Due to the deterioration of the vegetation in a large part of the Sierra de Zongolica and to the Reserve terrain currently being private property, it is common to find species that according to literature thrive in perturbed places, such as Bidens squarrosa, Cyclospermum leptophyllum, Elephantopus mollis, Fleischmannia pycnocephala, Gaultheria acuminata, Lantana camara, Miconia mexicana, Psidium guajava, Sida rhombifolia, Triumfetta bogotensis, Verbena carolina, Witheringia solanacea and Viguiera cordata. The presence of other species such as Conostegia xalapensis indicate that a secondary succession is under process, whereas other such as Epidendrum radicans and Erigeron karvinskianus are ruderals. Nonetheless, these are mainly found in the paths of the buffer zone, in the multiple-use zone and in the borders of the Reserve, where there is a larger transit of people and so the amount of light penetrating the forest is higher. In the Bicentenario Reserve there are seven introduced species Hypoestes phyllostachya, Ocimum campechianum, Ricinus communis and Trifolium repens, from the Old World (Villaseñor & Espinosa-García 2004), Impatiens walleriana from South America, Eriobotrya japonica native from China (Pankhurst 2009) and Kalanchoe pinnata introduced from Africa and Madagascar (Brunner 2009). These species are still scarce and are found in the borders of the Reserve or in the buffer zone.
The presence in the Bicentenario Reserve of 86 species included in the NOM-059 (SEMARNAT 2010) and in the The Red List of Mexican Cloud Forest Trees (González-Espinosa et al. 2011) stress the importance of the reservation as a biodiversity refuge, protecting species of great importance in the Mexican flora. As Martínez-Camilo et al. (2012) mention, the role performed by a protected area, the Bicentenario Reserve in this case, in the conservation of biodiversity acquires a greater importance when the species under threat, in danger of extinction or in another risk category, are known. Based on this information it is possible to promote more appropriate conservation policies, focused on the species that need them, that is why these species need special attention and why actions for their conservation and preservation in the ecosystem should be taken.
Conclusions
This first contribution to the knowledge of the flora of the cf in the Bicentenario Reserve in particular and in the Zongolica municipality in general, emphasizes its high floristic richness, with 401 species, 272 genera and 102 families of vascular plants, representing the 19.77 % of the total species number recorded in the cf of the state of Veracruz and between 14.21 and 16.04 % of the floristic richness estimated for this vegetation type in Mexico.
Despite the cf of the region having been cataloged as of low quality, the remnant flora, according to the results of this work, contains a high species richness, with 69 species endemic to Mexico, out of which eight are endemic to the state of Veracruz, as well as species in some risk category and species never before recorded for the zone. The conservation of the Reserve should be a priority, nonetheless because it has ten species considered in the NOM 059 (SEMARNAT, 2010) and 80 in The Red List of Mexican Cloud Forest Trees (González-Espinosa et al. 2011).
