Survey of the vascular plants of Sierra Chica, the untouched area of the Paititi Natural Reserve (southeastern Tandilia mountain range, Buenos Aires province, Argentina)

Abstract

The Paititi Natural Reserve is located in the southeastern part of the Tandilia mountain range (Buenos Aires province, Argentina). With the aim of recording the floristic richness of Sierra Chica, an untouched area of the reserve, all vascular plants were inventoried and categorized by family, status, and life form. Altogether, 364 taxa from 72 families were found, with the most predominant families being Poaceae (20.7%), Asteraceae (20.1%), and Fabaceae (5.8%). We found 95 adventive species, 4 cosmopolitan, and 265 native. The most abundant life forms were hemicryptophytes (33.1%), therophytes (30.6%), and criptophytes (22.6%); the therophytes were mostly represented by adventive species. We also found species that were known from Buenos Aires province but not from mountainous areas. Despite being a small area within Argentina, Sierra Chica constitutes a valuable refuge for native flora of the Tandilia mountain range system, which is in danger of being affected by exotic plants.