Revista de Biología Tropical ISSN Impreso: 0034-7744 ISSN electrónico: 2215-2075

OAI: https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/rbt/oai
Vegetation-environment relationships based on a life-forms c1assification in a semiarid region of Tropical Mexico
PDF

Keywords

morphological attributes
morphological strategies
ordination
multiple discriminant analysis
response curves
xerophyllous scrub
desert plants

How to Cite

Zavala-Hurtado, J. A., Valverde, P. L., Díaz-Solís, A., Vite, F., & Portilla, E. (1996). Vegetation-environment relationships based on a life-forms c1assification in a semiarid region of Tropical Mexico. Revista De Biología Tropical, 44(2A), 581–590. Retrieved from https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/rbt/article/view/21648

Abstract

Taking the view that morphological characteristics represent behavioral strategies of plants to cope with environmental pressures, we defined 18 life-forrns, using multivariate classification techniques in a tropical semiarid ecosystem in Central Mexico. A multiple discriminant analysis confirrned the existence of these groups. A nul! model of random rnembership of species to life-forrns was significantly different from our classification. Vegetation-envíronment relationships were exanúned wíth Detrended Canonical Correspondence Analysis (DCCA). Ordínation axes were ínterpreted mainly by altitude and soíl moisture. Response curves of life-forrns along these gradients were explored fitting generalized linear models (OLIM's). We believe that the life-forrns approach for the study of vegetation-envíronment relationships ís a valid alternative to the tradítional specíes approach usually used in phytosociological research because: í) lífe-forrns number was found to be an excellent specíes diversity predictor, ii) this approach enables considerable reduction in the bulk of data without losing ecological inforrnation, and iíi) life-forrns represent ecological strategies per se and, they constitute an index of the number of different ways the desert's resources are utilízed
PDF

Comments

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Copyright (c) 1996 Revista de Biología Tropical

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.