Background:

Forests of Pinus pinceana in the Eastern Sierra Madre of Tamaulipas grow in dry environmental conditions. It is important to know the composition and floristic diversity, as well as the useful structural parameters for future conservation programs.

Questions:

What is the structure, composition and floristic diversity of the vegetation associated with the Pinus pinceana forest in Tamaulipas?

Studied species / data description /Mathematical model:

Pinus pinceana, structural parameters, diversity, and linear regression models.

Study site and dates:

State of Tamaulipas, Mexico. March 2016 to March 2017.

Methods:

At each site (A and B) three strata were analyzed, ten 100 m2 plots for high stratum, 25 m2 for medium stratum and 1 m2 for low stratum, for a total of 30 plots per site.

Results:

A total of 48 species, 39 genera and 24 families of vascular plants were recorded. Fabaceae, Euphorbiaceae and Asparagaceae were the most representative families. Pinus pinceana had the highest Importance value index (IVI), whereas Flourensia laurifolia and Acacia roemeriana had the highest IVI values for the medium stratum. For the low stratum Croton ciliatoglandulifer and Hechtia hernandez-sandovalii had the highest IVI value. Significant differences were also found in the structure of the middle and upper stratum between the two study sites.

Conclusions:

The vegetation of the Pinus pinceana forests in Tamaulipas are similar in composition and diversity of species between sites, but the structure of the middle and upper stratum between the two study sites is different.