| Abstract Detail
Pteridological Section/AFS Mehltreter, K. [1], Ronzón Martínez, M. [1], González Gálvez, J. L. [1]. Fern diversity and conservation in coffee plantations of Central Veracruz, Mexico. The coffee crisis has led producers to search for alternative, sustainable management strategies. On the other hand, conservationists are trying to include agroecosystems into their management plans, if these ecosystems provide environmental services (i.e. hydrological services) that may provide an additional income to land owners. Biodiversity conservation is an important environmental service, but little information is available on how much diversity each agroecosystem sustains within a given region. As part of a multidisciplinary biodiversity project, we studied the terrestrial fern diversity in two distinctly managed coffee plantations in comparison to a nearby montane cloud forest. We surveyed 10 plots of 10 x 10 m for each site, assessed the completeness of the survey with non-parametric diversity estimators and compared the sites by means of the diversity indices of Simpson D and Shannon H, and the Jaccard similarity index. For all sites the estimators indicated 71-100 percent completeness of the survey, with Chao1 performing poorly, underestimating diversity. The cloud forest contained 33 species (S) and 1014 individuals (N) per 1000 m2, D = 2.8, H = 1.8, while a traditional coffee plantation had S = 13, N = 298, D = 3.9, H = 1.7, and an intensive plantation had S = 9, N = 73, D = 1.7, H = 1.0. The Jaccard similarity index between forest and both plantations was 0.11, and between the coffee plantations 0.26. The rank abundance curves show that all rare species of the forest were missing in the coffee plantations, while abundant species are still present, although often without mature individuals.
1 - Instituto de Ecología, A. C., Departamento Ecología Vegetal, km 2.5 antigua carretera a Coatepec No. 351, Congregación El Haya, Xalapa, Veracruz, 91070, Mexico
Keywords:
ferns
Diversity
conservation
coffee
Mexico
cloud forest
environmental services
Species diversity indices.
Presentation Type: Paper
Session: 22-6
Location: Superior B (Cliff Lodge)
Date: Monday, August 2nd, 2004
Time: 3:30 PM
Abstract ID:368 |
