Vegetation-environment relatioship based on a life-forms classification in a semiarid region of Tropical Mexico
Rev. biol. trop
; Rev. biol. trop;44(2A): 581-90, ago. 1996. tab, graf
Article
em En
| LILACS
| ID: lil-218374
Biblioteca responsável:
BR1.1
ABSTRACT
Taking the view that morphological characteristics represent behavioral strategies of plants to cope with environmental pressures, we defined 18 life-forms, using multivariate classification techniques in a tropical semiarid ecosystem in Central Mexico. A multiple discriminant analysis confirmed the existence of these groups. A null model of random membership of species to life-forms was significantly different from our classification. Vegetation-environment relationships were examined with Detrended Canonical orrespondence Analysis (DCCA). Ordination axes were interpreted mainly be altitude and soil moisture. Response curves of life-forms along these gradients were explored fitting generalized linear models (GLIM's). We believe that the life-forms approach for the study of vegatation-environment relationships is a valid alternative to the traditional species approach usually used in physiological research because i) life-forms number was found to be an excellent species diversity predictor, ii) this approach enables considerable reduction in the bulk of data without losing ecological information, and iii) life-forms represent ecological strategies per se and, they constitute an index of the number of different ways the desert's resources are utilized
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Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
LILACS
Assunto principal:
Filogenia
/
Ecossistema
Tipo de estudo:
Prognostic_studies
País/Região como assunto:
Mexico
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Rev. biol. trop
Assunto da revista:
BIOLOGIA
/
MEDICINA TROPICAL
Ano de publicação:
1996
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de publicação:
Costa Rica