Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Early successional sites and the recovery of vegetation structure and tree species of the tropical dry forest in Veracruz, Mexico

  • Published:
New Forests Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Secondary successional vegetation represents one-third of the 7% of the original area covered with tropical dry forest that remains in central Veracruz, Mexico. In this region, fallow periods are short, in general, no longer than 7–10 years, and old secondary successional sites are not available. Therefore we evaluated the potential of very early successional stages of tropical dry forest with different land use histories for recovering the structure and composition of regional forest. We compared five early successional sites (7–72 months) with five nearby forest remnants. Successional sites had reached 38 and 30%, respectively, of the average basal area and density recorded for the forest understories, but only 5 and 10%, respectively, of the basal area and density of forest overstories. A total of 132 tree species were recorded, 45 at successional and 107 at forest sites. Individuals of tree species with animal-dispersed seeds (57%) were significantly better represented than wind-dispersed (22%) and self-dispersing (21%) species in both successional and forest sites. Successional sites had already recruited 10% of the intermediate and shade-tolerant species that grow in forest remnants. However, only 20 species occurred in both early successional and forest sites, several showing resprouting ability. We conclude that the entry of forest species to the successional process at very early stages and the recruitment of individuals from resprouting may facilitate the recovery of the dry forest in Veracruz.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (2003) An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG II. Bot J Linn Soc 141:399–436

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Castillo-Campos G, Medina-Abreo ME (2002) Árboles y Arbustos de la Reserva Natural de La Mancha, Veracruz. Instituto de Ecología A.C. Xalapa, México

    Google Scholar 

  • Challenger A, Dirzo R (2009) Factores de cambio y estado de la biodiversidad. In: Capital natural de México vol II: estado de conservación y tendencias de cambio. CONABIO, México, pp 37–73

  • Chazdon RL, Letcher SG, van Breugel M, Martínez-Ramos M, Bongers F, Finegan B (2007) Rates of change in tree communities of secondary Neotropical forests following major disturbances. Phil Trans R Soc B 362:273–289

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Colwell RK (2006) EstimateS: statistical estimation of species richness and shared species from samples. Version 8. <Persistent URL purl.oclc.org/estimates>

  • Corlett RT (2009) Seed dispersal distances and plant migration potential in tropical East Asia. Biotropica 41:592–598

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Curtis JT, McIntosh RP (1951) An upland forest continuum in the prairie-forest border region of Wisconsin. Ecology 32:476–496

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Noir FA, Bravo S, Abdala R (2002) Mecanismos de dispersión de algunas especies de leñosas nativas del Chaco Occidental y Serrano. Quebracho 9:140–150

    Google Scholar 

  • Egler FE (1954) Vegetation science concepts. 1 Initial floristic composition, a factor in old-field vegetation development. Vegetatio 4:412–417

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ewel JJ (1977) Differences between wet and dry successional tropical ecosystems. Geo-Eco-Trop 1:103–117

    Google Scholar 

  • Ewel JJ (1980) Tropical succession: manifold routes to maturity. Biotropica 12:2–7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gillespie TW (1999) Life history characteristics and rarity of woody plants in tropical dry forest fragments of Central America. J Trop Ecol 15:637–649

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • González-Iturbe JA, Olmsted I, Tun-Dzul F (2002) Tropical dry forest recovery after long term Henequén (sisal, Agave fourcroydes Lem.) plantation in northern Yucatán, Mexico. For Ecol Manage 167:67–82

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Griscom HP, Griscom BW, Ashton MS (2009) Forest regeneration from pasture in the dry tropics of Panama: effects of cattle, exotic grass, and forested riparia. Restor Ecol 17:117–126

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Griz LMS, Machado ICS (2001) Fruiting phenology and seed dispersal syndrome in caatinga, a tropical dry forest in the northeast of Brazil. J Trop Ecol 17:303–321

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guariguata MR, Ostertag R (2001) Neotropical secondary forest succession: changes in structural and functional characteristics. For Ecol Manage 146:185–206

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Justiniano MJ, Fredericksen TS (2000) Phenology of tree species in Bolivian dry forests. Biotropica 32:276–281

    Google Scholar 

  • Kalacska M, Sánchez-Azofeifa GA, Calvo-Alvarado JC, Quesada M, Rivard B, Janzen DH (2004) Species composition, similarity and diversity in three successional stages of a seasonally dry tropical forest. For Ecol Manage 200:227–247

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kammesheidt L (1998) The role of tree sprouts in the restoration of stand structure and species diversity in tropical moist forest after slash-and-burn agriculture in Eastern Paraguay. Plant Ecol 139:155–165

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kennard DK (2002) Secondary forest succession in a tropical dry forest: patterns of development across a 50-year chronosequence in lowland Bolivia. J Trop Ecol 18:53–66

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Killeen TJ, Jardim A, Mamani F, Rojas N (1998) Diversity, composition and structure of a tropical semideciduous forest in the Chiquitania region of Santa Cruz, Bolivia. J Trop Ecol 14:803–827

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laborde J, Guevara S, Sánchez-Ríos G (2008) Tree and shrub seed dispersal in pastures: the importance of rainforest trees outside forest fragments. Ecoscience 15:6–16

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lebrija-Trejos E, Bongers F, Pérez-García EA, Meave JA (2008) Successional change and resilience of a very dry tropical deciduous forest following shifting agriculture. Biotropica 40:422–431

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lebrija-Trejos E, Pérez-García EA, Meave JA, Bongers F, Poorter L (2010) Functional traits and environmental filtering drive community assembly in a species-rich tropical system. Ecology 91:386–398

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Markesteijn L, Poorter L, Bongers F (2007) Light-dependent leaf trait variation in 43 tropical dry forest tree species. Am J Bot 94:515–525

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McLaren KP, McDonald MA (2003) Coppice regrowth in a disturbed tropical dry limestone forest in Jamaica. For Ecol Manage 180:99–111

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller PM, Kauffman JB (1998) Effects of slash and burn agriculture on species abundance and composition of a tropical deciduous forest. For Ecol Manage 103:191–201

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Molina Colón S, Lugo AE (2006) Recovery of a subtropical dry forest after abandonment of different land uses. Biotropica 38:354–364

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mostacedo B, Putz FE, Fredericksen TS, Villca A, Palacios T (2009) Contributions of root and stump sprouts to natural regeneration of a logged tropical dry forest in Bolivia. For Ecol Manage 258:978–985

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murphy PG, Lugo AE (1986) Ecology of tropical dry forest. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 17:67–88

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Newton AC (2008) Restoration of dryland forests in Latin America: the ReForLan project. Ecol Rest 26:10–13

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ortiz J, López-Barrera F, Callejas J (2010) A historical reconstruction of the land use patterns from 1920 to 1960 in communal lands of Paso de Ovejas, Veracruz, Mexico. In: Newton A (ed) Principles and practice of forest landscape restoration. Case studies from the drylands of Latin America. IUCN. Accepted

  • Poorter L (2009) Leaf traits show different relationships with shade tolerance in moist versus dry tropical forests. New Phytol 181:890–900

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Quesada M, Sanchez-Azofeifa GA, Alvarez-Añorve M et al (2009) Succession and management of tropical dry forests in the Americas: review and new perspectives. For Ecol Manage 258:1014–1024

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Read L, Lawrence D (2003) Recovery of biomass following shifting cultivation in dry tropical forests of the Yucatán. Ecol Appl 13:85–97

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Romero-Duque LP, Jaramillo VJ, Pérez-Jiménez A (2007) Structure and diversity of secondary tropical dry forests in Mexico, differing in their prior land-use history. For Ecol Manage 253:38–47

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ruiz J, Fandiño MC, Chazdon RL (2005) Vegetation structure, composition, and species richness across a 56-year chronosequence of dry tropical forest on Providencia Island, Colombia. Biotropica 37:520–530

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ruschel AR, Nodari RO, Moerschbacher BM (2007) Woody plant species richness in the Turvo State park, a large remnant of deciduous Atlantic forest, Brazil. Biodivers Conserv 16:1699–1714

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sabogal C (1992) Regeneration of tropical dry forests in Central America, with examples from Nicaragua. J Veg Sci 3:407–416

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sampaio AB, Holl KD, Scariot A (2007a) Regeneration of seasonal deciduous forest tree species in long-used pastures in Central Brazil. Biotropica 39:655–659

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sampaio AB, Holl KD, Scariot A (2007b) Does restoration enhance regeneration of seasonal deciduous forests in pastures in central Brazil? Restor Ecol 15:462–471

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trejo I, Hernández J, García-Guzmán G (2007) El impacto del cambio de uso del suelo en los bosques tropicales caducifolios en México. Paper presented at the XVII Mexican Congress of Botany, 14–18 October. Zacatecas, Zacatecas, Mexico

  • van der Pijl L (1972) Principles of dispersal in higher plants. Springer, Berlin, Germany

    Google Scholar 

  • Viera DLM, Scariot A (2006) Principles of natural regeneration of tropical dry forests for restoration. Restor Ecol 14:11–20

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams-Linera G, Lorea F (2009) Tree species diversity driven by environmental and anthropogenic factors in tropical dry forest fragments of central Veracruz, Mexico. Biodivers Conserv 18:3269–3293

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zar JH (1999) Biostatistical analysis, 4th edn. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to María de Jesús Peralta for her valuable assistance in the field and herbarium, Francisco Lorea for reviewing the taxa and functional groups, Fabiola López Barrera and Arturo Piña for help in the preparation of Figs. 1 and 3, and two anonymous reviewers for suggestions to improve the manuscript. This research was funded by the European Community under INCO Project ReForLan (CT2006-032132).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Ecología, AC, Carretera Antigua a Coatepec 351, Xalapa, Veracruz, 91070, Mexico

    Guadalupe Williams-Linera, Estela Hernández-Ascención & María Toledo

  2. Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales, Universidad Veracruzana, Apartado Postal 551, 91000, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico

    Claudia Alvarez-Aquino

Authors
  1. Guadalupe Williams-Linera
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Claudia Alvarez-Aquino
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Estela Hernández-Ascención
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. María Toledo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Guadalupe Williams-Linera.

Appendix

Appendix

See Table 3.

Table 3 List of 105 woody plants identified to species at the early successional sites (S1-5) and nearby forest remnants (F1-5) in the tropical dry forest region of central Veracruz, Mexico (elevation 110–250 m a.s.l.)
Full size table

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Williams-Linera, G., Alvarez-Aquino, C., Hernández-Ascención, E. et al. Early successional sites and the recovery of vegetation structure and tree species of the tropical dry forest in Veracruz, Mexico. New Forests 42, 131–148 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11056-010-9242-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11056-010-9242-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation