Floristic composition and structure of a coastal and sub-coastal xeromorphic scrub in the semi-arid zone, Guantánamo

Abstract

According to the categorization of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF, for its acronym in English), xeromorphic scrublands are terrestrial ecoregions of importance for conservation. In order to characterize the floristic composition and structure of a coastal and subcoastal xeromorphic scrub, the following study was developed, at the "El Rosal" site located in the semi-arid zone of the Guantánamo province. Twenty sampling plots with an area of 20 x 25 m were established; the diameter (1.30) and height of all individuals e" 5 cm were recorded, the sampling was validated with the area-species curve. With the values obtained, the Shannon, equity and Simpson diversity indices and beta diversity were calculated through an analysis of hierarchical clusters, by means of the Sorensen distance measure, the horizontal structure and the vertical structure through the description of the strata. of the vegetation. A total of 15 species belonging to 10 genera and 11 families were recorded, where the species of greatest ecological importance were Guaiacum officinale L. and Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit. In the cluster analysis, three clusters were distinguished with 63 % similarity. Low floristic diversity was demonstrated and the vegetation reached up to 5 m in dominant height and the species with the highest sociological position were Guaiacum officinale, Leucaena leucocephala and Azadirachta indica.