Abstract

ALMEIDA-LENERO, Lucía; MONDRAGON, Ana María; LUDLOW-WIECHERS, Beatriz  and  AGUILAR-ZAMORA, Verónica. The community of Furcraea parmentieri, a threatened specie, Central Mexico. Polibotánica [online]. 2014, n.37, pp.25-46. ISSN 1405-2768.

The flora and vegetation of Furcraea parmentieri (Roezl ex Ortigies) Garcia-Mend. (F bedinghausii) community was studied on the Pelado volcano, at the S area of Mexico City. Following Zurich-Montpellier criteria, 25 phytosociological plots were done, and the Jaccard index of similarity was calculated. Furcraea parmentieri is associated with Muhlenbergia macroura to form an azonal community between 3 020 and 3 300 m, on rocky soils and gaps of Pinus-Alnus forest. Three subcommunities can be distinguished: Furcraea parmentieri-Trisetum virletii, Furcraea parmentieri-Aegopogon cenchroides and Furcraea parmentieri-Solanum cervantesii. 87 species were recorded, representing 63 genera and 27 families, of which the most abundant were Asteraceae and Poaceae. The proper environmental conditions for Furcraea parmentieri are: altitudes between 3 020 and 3 100 m, N exposures, acid soils with pH 6.0 and slopes among 36° and 45°. The main problem for species preservation in the area is repeated burning, that depletes soils and destroys vegetative bulbils, causing population diminishment. Conservation of Furcraea parmentieri community is important because, it is an endangered and endemic species, as well as a soil-stabilizing species for severely degraded zones (NOM-059-ECOL-2001).

Keywords : mega-rossette; vegetation azonal; endemic; conservation.

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