Light habitat, structure, diversity and dynamic of the tropical dry forest

Abstract

Tropical dry forests are complex and fragile ecosystems with high anthropic intervention and restricted reproductive cycles. These have unique richness, structural diversity, physiological and phenological . This research was executed in the Upper Magdalena Valley, in four forest fragments with different successional stages. In each fragment four permanent plots of 0.25 ha were established and lighting habitat associated with richness, relative abundance and rarity of species. The forest dynamics included the mortality, recruitment and diameter growth for a period of 5.25 years. The species rischness found in the mature riparian forestis higher than that reported in other studies of similar areas in Valle del Cauca and the Atlantic coast. The values of richness, diversity and rarity species are more evidenced than the magnitudes found in drier areas of Tolima. The structure, diversity and dynamics of forests were correlated with the lighting habitat, showing differences in canopy architecture and its role in the capture and absorption of radiation. Forests with dense canopy have limited availability of photosynthetically active radiation in understory related low species richness, while illuminated undergrowth are richer and heterogeneous.

Keywords

• Radiación fotosintéticamente activa, factor de extinción lumínico, estructura, mortalidad, reclutamiento, diversidad florística