Resumo

MATA-PAEZ, Ricardo Ismael; DOMINGUEZ-CALLEROS, Pedro Antonio; GOCHE-TELLES, José Rodolfo  e  DIAZ-VASQUEZ, Manuel Antonio. Ecological relevance of catclaw (Mimosa spp.) at the Sierra de Órganos National Park. Rev. mex. de cienc. forestales [online]. 2016, vol.7, n.35, pp.53-63. ISSN 2007-1132.

Flora members of the Leguminosae family are crucial to the recuperation of degraded sites. The objective of this research was to characterize the catclaw plants present at the Sierra de Órganos National Park (Parque Nacional Sierra de Órganos, PNSO) both silviculturally and ecologically, which allows an adequate management of their population and makes it possible to determine their relevance in the vegetal succession process. The main catclaw populations were arranged in stands, and circular 500 m2 sites were established, with a sampling density of 5 %. The indices developed by Von Gadow and Füldner and by Pommerening were used to determine the spatial distribution of this species. An approximate density of 3 120 plants ha-1 was registered in 53 sampling sites; 79 % of these plants are catclaws, located within a range of 2 279 to 2 357 masl; 30 % of these were found at eastern exposures. Their average height and diameter were 106.62 cm and 2.11 cm, respectively. The index of Von Gadow and Füldner had a value of 0.264, and Pommerening’s index, of 1.282. This specie is mainly associated with the Opuntia, Acacia and Pinus genera. Catclaws at PNSO are non-invasive plants, as they cover only 4.76 % of the total surface area; they form compact, defined patches, and they occupy areas where other types of vegetation would not easily survive, such as mountainsides, the banks of intermittent streams and areas that have been subjected to overgrazing, where they fulfill a protective and soil-forming role.

Palavras-chave : Natural Protected Area; spatial distribution; soil-forming; Mimosa spp.; invasive plants; degraded sites.

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