Introduction:

Land use change due to wind infrastructure establishment can cause ecosystem fragmentation. The result is a new configuration and spatial composition that can be studied by means of landscape and vegetation evaluation.

Objective:

We aimed to characterize the landscape elements in a wind farm area and to recognize the structure and diversity of the fragments identified in the Tamaulipan thornscrub (TT).

Materials and methods:

Land uses were identified using the Normalized Distribution Vegetation Index, whose elements were classified and analyzed using landscape metrics. The plant community preserved in fragments of TT was evaluated by analyzing its structure and tree measurement variables. Diversity and richness indices were calculated, and a Bray-Curtis plot was developed to determine the level of similarity between sites based on species abundance.

Results and discussion:

The multipurpose productive system comprising the study area (14 031.98 ha) included five land uses: agriculture (53.53 %), grassland (25.31 %), TT vegetation (20.63 %), roads (0.51 %) and wind turbines (0.01 %). Fabaceae, Poaceae and Cactaceae families had a greater presence in TT fragments. absolute abundance, canopy cover and average height of tree-shrub stratum was 6 824 individuals∙ha-1, 224.19 m2∙ha-1 and 1.64 m, respectively.

Conclusions:

The spatial configuration and floristic composition of the fragments would facilitate the creation of biological corridors under ecological restoration measures. Floristic composition parameters were higher compared to those reported in other TT conservation areas.

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