Background and Aims:

The genus Agave has been poorly studied at the ecological level in Hispaniola and in the Caribbean region. Aspects of its habitat have been reported, but this type of research has not been carried out in depth. The objectives of this research were to describe the habitat of Agave in the Sierra de Bahoruco National Park, Dominican Republic, to determine the environmental variables influencing their growth and morphological variation, and to register the phenology of its species.

Methods:

During August and December 2023, 12 localities were visited and 24 environmental variables were registered. Also, 46 morphological variables were taken in account and 36 individuals were measured in the field, complementing the phenological information with herbarium specimens. Principal Components Analysis (PCA), Spearman Correlation Analysis, Kruskal-Wallis and Dunn-Bonferroni tests, and Jaccard Coefficient were performed.

Key results:

The environmental parameters that affected the morphological traits were heat stress index, calcium, maximum temperature, copper, iron, light intensity, potassium, slope, elevation, magnesium, precipitation, nitrogen, minimum temperature, relative humidity and manganese. Affected morphological traits were, by highest to lowest number of environmental variables: leaf length, leaf shape, colour of teeth at the apex, colour of the spine, fruit shape, teeth shape, flower stalk length, uniformity in tooth size, flower stalk width, number of teeth, plant height, filament insertion, and filament width. The predominant vegetation type was Pinus occidentalis forest.

Conclusions:

Part of the morphological variation of Agave individuals in the Sierra de Bahoruco National Park is influenced by environmental factors.

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