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AND FLORA PHYTOGEOGRAPHY OF THE CANON DE NUEVO MEXICO ITURBIDE, LEON, Magdalena Salinas-Rodriguezand Maria Eduardo Estrada-Castillon Jose Angel Villarreal-Quintanilla Buenavista, Saltillo MEXICO Coahuila, Nuevo MEXICO Linares, Le6n, ABSTRACT A w y Terrestrial Region 82. floristic survey Pausras Mexico Clave: Caft6n de Noreste de Iturbide, flora, fitogeografta, The Cafion de Iturbide area located at the Gran Sierra Plegada in the State of Nuevo Leon and ranges from 700 is m good and whose condition, to 2,900 in elevation. The area covered by forests and shrublands, in relatively is Commission Knowledge and Use The National for the of Doristic components have not been studied deeply. Region 82. represents an important area Biodiversity (CONABIO) has designated as the Priority Terrestrial It it in the corridor Madre connecting the preserved forests for the transit of carnivorous spe- of the Sierra Oriental, and Puma jaguar Panthera onca jaguarundi cies such concolor cougar as black bear (Ursus americanus ( ), ( ), ), maroon-fronted parrot (Rhynchopsitta (Pu the terrisi mayagouaroundi migration corridor to ) also serves as a It ). knowledge which This study aims to contribute to the of the endemic Madre Oriental. is to the northern Sierra regional and flora origin. its J - »«*- Res. Inst Texas 803-8 7(2): Study area The was study carried out in the Priority Terrestrial Region 82 (Arriaga-Cabrera et 2000). embraces a al. It o surface area of 42,200 ha (Fig. 1) and is located at 24 40, 19"-24°55,43"N and 99°45,36M-99°59, 50"W. Its geolo- gy is constituted mainly of sedimentary calcareous, folded, anticlinal and synclinal rock layers from the upper cretaceous (Rzedowski 1978), giving rise to steep sierras with narrow central valleys. The dissolution of the rock by water has formed narrow canyons within the Cation de Iturbide study area such as El Potosi, Jaures, Canon Caribeflo, Venado, Seco, Las Monedas, Pablillo, and La Escondida, as well as several important moun- such La tains, as Sierra Muralla, Sierra Borrada, Sierra Cieneguita, Sierra El Gabacho, Sierra El Novillo, and Sierra Santa Maria (INEGI 1986, 2010). The area part of the San Femando-Soto Marina hydrographic is la region, in the Rio San Fernando hydrographic and (CONAGUA subregion, the Rio Conchos-Chorreras basin The warm 2007). climate varies from (low parts) to temperate (higher parts), and from wet to dry, in this case from West East to respectively. Climatic differences are caused by the Sierra Madre Oriental rising from the Llanura Costera del Golfo Norte (Gulf Coastal Plain) toward the Altiplano Mexicano (Mexican Plateau), pro- ducing a condensation effect, that generates rains in the eastern slope of the mountain chains where fog occurs commonly, while the western slopes develop a “rain shadow” with dry or semi-dry climate, forming low forest known of oaks, also as chaparral. The study area has three main climate types: (A)C(Wi) or semiwarm-subhu- C(w mid, or temperate subhumid, and 0) BSlh(x’) or semiarid-temperate (Garcia 1998). The main soils of the cm area are shallow lithosols, limited in depth to 10 above bedrock (FAO-UNESCO The main 1988). vegetation mixed types are forest (Quercus-Pinus), conifer forest Pinus broad ( leaf forest, ), p scrublands, and chaparral (Alanls 2004; Velazco 2009). and work Field lab Thirty sample sites representing all the plant communities previously recognized were randomly and selected georeferenced. Plant specimens were from collected 2011 July to April 2012. All specimens were deposited in herbarium in the Faculty of Forest Nuevo Sciences, Linares, Leon, Mexico (CFNL). Taxa were using identified several floristic studies for the area or near as well as monographs most it for genera (Banda 1974; Briones 1991; Estrada 2007; Estrada et al. 2012; Gonzalez 1972, 2003; Hernandez Luna & 1998; et 2004; Martinez Diaz al. & Salas 1995; Gonzalez-Medrano & 1972; Mickel Smith 2004; Puig 1991; Rojas 1965; Velazco 2009; Villarreal We Estrada 2008). also consulted and used CFNL the databases for the herbarium, Hinton Herbarium (Gale- ana, and TEX/LL, N.L.), (Austin, Texas). Sampled sites were compared according A to their plant diversity. species matrix based on presence (l)-absence data was used comparison among (0) for sites using Sorensen Similarity Coefficient (Mueller- & Dumbois Ellenberg by means 1974) of the polythetic agglomerative technique (Gauch Manly 1990) 1982; UPGMA and the method was used for cluster analysis, using the MVSP Package (KCS 2005). Vegetation types & are according Miranda to Hemindez-Xolocotzi and (1963) Rzedowski (1978). Floristic affinities are according (Rzedowski to 1962, HemSndez-Xolocotzi 1978), (1953), Briones and (1991), Garcia (2009). Floristic composition A of 113 total families, 410 genera, 698 and species, 70 infraspecific taxa of vascular were plants recorded. (Table Appendix). 1, Families with the highest number of genera, number highest of species, and genera with the number highest of species are shown in Tables and 2, 3, 4, respectively. Seven of the families (6%) include 43% and 49% of the genera and species, respectivelywhile the twelve most diversified genera 23% include of the total genera. The Magnoliophyta common are the most Canon plants in de Iturbide bile Coniferophyta and Cycadophyta are the less diversified groups. The Asteraceae, Fabaceae, and Poaceae families are the n and diversified families, it Desmodium Euphorbia (13), Dalea and (12), Quercus (9), (10) stand out as then rsified genera. etal.. Flora of Canon de Iturbide, Salinas-R. I Origin of the and flora phytogeography e most °mmon c genera in the study area are from arid areas of the world and from Tropical America (Table 5 The dmont ' Ple scrub community contains the highest number of genera. This type of vegetation is located ln lower «s a P of the area, at the foot of the mountains, in transition -with Tamaulipan thorn scrub, and is it common to find genera from warm and such Zanthoxylum, Phoebe, areas as Acacia, Bauhinia, Berberis, Eheretia, ^swell as those belonging to the American tropics such as Acaciella, Casimiroa, Caesalpinia, Amyris, Condalia, 0r ia, Decatropis, and Commonly found Esenbeckia, Eysenhardtia, Gochnatia, Helietta, Persea, Schaefferia. er baceous species are Capsicum, Course- Abutilon, Acalypha, Waltheria, Phyllanthus, Priva, Tragia, Indigofera, tia GlIia Santana, ' Mimosa, and ’ Passijlora, Verbesina. Several genera with nearctic and temperate are most commonly found in the oak-pine forests and affinity Parral communities, in the highest parts of the mountains and in the western flanks, where it is common to g Pmus and Quercus as the dominant tree layer elements, associated with shrubby genera such as Juniperus, P ^ nus erc ’ is, Ceanothus, Prunus, Crataegus, Garrya, andJuglans, while the herbaceous layer is mainly rep- ented by Aster, Conopholis, Hedeoma, Hymenoxys, Asclepias, Centaurium, Evolvulus, Hackelia, Packera, Par- ocissus, among Philadelphia, Tagetes, Taraxacum, Urtica, Vitis, Artemisia, and Eryngium, others. Also, in the Parral community, Quercus the genus dominant in the shrub layer, along with several genera of Rosaceae is tem Perate and dry areas such as Amelanchier, Cercocarpus, Cowania, Crataegus, Vauquelinia, and Th e pure oak forests found in the study area have an of neotropical elements followed by ir c Table 1.F Table 2. Families with the highest number of genera in the study area. etal.. Flora of Canon de Iturbide, Mexico Salinas-R. much nearctic origin elements. The former are better represented in the herbaceous layer by the genera Agera- tina. Begonia, Bouvardia, Castilleja, Cheilanthes, Cologania, Desmanthus, Desmodium, Mimosa, Phaseolus, Rivina, and and such and Salvia, Stevia, several vines as Gonolobus, Ibervillea, Matelea, Melothria, Serjania, Smilax. Ele- ments from temperate origin distributed in the study area are Arbutus, Carya, Celtis, Cercis, Pistacia, Prunus, and Quercus, Ungnadia. noteworthy the presence of ferns such as Adiantum, Anemia, Asplenium, Cheilan- It is many thes, Uavea, Mildella, Pellaea, and Pleopeltis because are epiphytes adapted to live on the bark of the oaks among and the litter that keeps the moisture they need to thrive. The southwestern shadow” and shows portion of the study area in the “rain of the sierra evident semi- is arid conditions that favor the development of desert scrub plant communities, which include mostly nearctic genera, highlighting species of Ambrosia, Baccharis, Bahia, Bouteloua, Dasylirion, Dyssodia, Lesquerella, Leuco- phyllum, Machaeranthera, Mortonia, and Also, the xerophytic vegetation hosts the greater number of Nissolia. Mexican typical genera such as Agave, Ferocactus, Glandulia Riparian communities are found along seasonal and permanent rivers and also in some creeks with seasonal streams common that retain moisture. The most genera from warm-areas found in these ecosystems are Commetina, Cyperus, Digitaria, Oplismenus, and Paspalum, but also present are genera with cosmopolitan dis- tributions such as Apium, Eleocharis, Lobelia, Rumex, and Samolus, and even genera from temperate origin such as Arundo, and The most Astranthium, Coriandrum, Equisetum, Geranium, Rorippa, Seymeria, Talinum. evi- Iris, dent and and distinctive genera in the tree layer of the riparian areas are Platanus, Salix, Sambucus. According to the cluster analysis and the dendrogram (Fig. based on presence-absence of species, five 2), ntain groups of plant associations are recognized: xeric scrublands, oak-pine forest (with different plant asso- & ciations), piedmont scrub, Tamaulipan thorn scrub and agricultural lands (Rzedowski 1978; Miranda Hernandez 1963). m Group I includes three sites located at xeric scrubland at an elevation of 1310 to 1500 and is represented by the presence of the species Acacia berlandieri, A. roemeriana, Agave lecheguilla, A. striata, Berberis lata Echinocereus Platy<xanthus, Euphorbia antysiphilitica, Ferocactus hamatacanthus, Fraxinus greggii. Goch° Group II is a heterogeneous complex of where oaks and pines are the dominant elements at an eleva- sites tion of 600 to 2000 m; however, shows differences. includes six subgroups of plant associations. floristic It it Subgroup m IIA includes two dominated by 10-15 pure oak-pine temperate forests at an elevation of sites tall 000 m. The dominates include Quercus polymorpha, Pinus cembroides, pseu- Q. canbyi, Q. laceyi, Q. P. affinis, strobus, associated to Carya ovata, Cercis canadensis, Juglans mollis, Juniperus deppeana, Pistacia mexicana, Verbesina olsenii. Subgroup IIB, made up of five sites (elevation of 1100 to 1500 m) and consists of a semi- tfry oak scrubland in transition with pine forest. Subgroup lib is similar to the Subgroup IIA but with a greater number of Rosaceae The dominant subgroup Amelanchier species. species in this are denticulata, A. paniculata, m myris adrensis, Buddleja cordata, Ceanothusfendleri, C. greggii, Dalea capitata, D. melantha, D, luteajunipe- ^gosturanaj.flaccida, Undleya Pinus cembroides, pseudostrobus, Pistacia mexicana, Quercus mespilioides, P. Miformis, Q galeanensis, and Rhus These Q. laeta, Q. microlepis, Q. sideroxyla, Q. striatula, virens. sites are 808 Canon de Salinas-R. et al.. Flora of 809 Comarostaphylis Croton eguilla, polifolia, ciliato-glandulifer, Dasylirion berlandieri,Juniperus deppeana, O. engel- mannii, Painteria eleachistophylla, Pistacia mexicana, Tecoma stans, Vauquelinia corymbosa ssp. heterodon, and m Subgroup Yucca treculeana. IIF included two sites of pure oak forest located at 750 to 950 and is dominated by Dioon angustifolium in the lower strata and by Juglans mollis, Esenbeckia berlandiri, Quercus canbyi, and Q. Some rizpphylla in the higher strata. epiphytes were also recorded such as Tillandsia bartramii, recurvata, and T. T.usneoides. m m Group III includes six sites reaching 600 to 1100 along the Cabezones-Potosi canyon, showing 4-5 a piedmont scrub physiognomy with abundant thorny and non-thorny tall species. Several species are charac- community, teristic of this plant highlighting species of the genera Acacia, Bauhinia, Buddleja, Celtis, Cercis, Colubrina, Cordia, Decatropis, Diospyros, Ebenopsis, Ehretia, Erythrina, Esenbeckia, Havardia, Helietta, Phoebe, and when Ungnadia, Zanthoxylum, but also, adjacent riparian habitats, they share several species such as Adi- antum capillus-veneris, Cyperus minimae, C. odoratus, C. thyrsijlorus, Equisetum hyemale, Lobelia cardinalis, Platanus rzedowskii, Rorippa nasturtium-aquaticum, Sambucus and nigra ssp. canadensis, Salixjaliscana, nigra, S. m Group IV medium includes four sites located at altitudes ranging from 1500 to 1530 in agriculture Laguna lands in de Santa Rosa, and adjacent to the semi-dry oak scrubland. dominated by weed species in It is the herbaceous such strata as Abutilon hypoleucum, Altemanthera caracasana, Amaranthus Ambrosia hybridus. psilostachya, Anagallis arvensis, Anoda Astragalus hypoleucus, Argemone mexicana, Bidens cristata, Jerulifolia, Boerhavia anysophylla, Bouchetia erecta, Cirsium vulgare, Calyptocarpus Dyssodia papposa, Gaura vialis, coc- dnea, Helianthus annus, Ipomoea coccinea, Kallstroemia parvifolia, Lactuca serriola, Meximalvafilipes, Nicotiana trigonophylla, Oenothera rosea, Parthenium incanum, Ricinus communis, Solanum eleagnifolium, Taraxacum offici- nale, Urticachamaedryoides, Verbena Carolina, and Zinnia peruviana. V Group Finally, corresponds to a single site in the lowest part of the study area ranging from 600 to 650 m on the boundary with Tamaulipan thorny scrub. This group shows species not found in the other site's samples such as Acacia amentacea, Bemardia Acaciella angustissima, myricifolia, Caesalpinia mexicana, Capsi- cum annuum var. minus, Canavallia Colubrina Croton villosa, Celtis laevigata, C. pallida, greggii, cortesianus, C. fruticulosus, Dyospyros texana, Ehretia anacua, Hibiscus martianus,Karwinskia humboldtiana, Randia rhagocar- W and Schaefferia cuniefolia. Endemism and protection status The study area hosts at least five endemic species for Nuevo Le6n Mexican state: Notholaena leonina, living in oak-pine Canon forests, in the Arroyo Seco; Verbesina olsenii, inhabiting mainly oak forest, adapted to live in ®oist ravines, near the Caracol Waterfall; Anoda leonensis, inhabiting piedmont scrub in transition to oak for- La Palma and Canon El Caribeno; Thelocactus tulensis, recorded in the rosetophyllous desert scrub, ®°nt scrub near Canon El Caribeno. In addition Dioon angustifolium, is narrowly endemic to the mountains of de and Linares counties in Nuevo Le6n, and to the Sierra de San Carlos, Tamaulipas (Astorga et al 2005). 35 ’ Part °f this work, a new Asteraceae species was discovered: Verbesina lanulosa (in press), which lives in e 1 transition between the piedmont forest and oak forests near the settlement of La Salitrera. The new species recorded in the piedmont scrub on rocky hillsides, with high sun exposure. From the total species known 01 this area we (NOM SEMARNAT recorded seven species protected by Mexican laws - 059 2010) (Table 6). CONCLUSIONS The heterogeneous topography and climates over the study area allow for the development of rich plant all v ersity as well as contrasting plant communities and different life forms. The plains, mountains, creeks, and different and home variable ecosystems that are to countless species of very different origins. The classifi^ate cation of vegetation allowed us to recognize different patterns of plant association based on plant diver- T he most V* diverse plant vegetation types were the oak and the oak-pine forest, although in this plant com- unity were more who sampling sites, our results agree with those of Estrada (2007), found that of all sampled 810 Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas 7(2) Tuu 6. Species protected by Mexican law in the study a vegetation types (which are close our study mixed oak and to area), forests of conifer always kept greater diversity of species. Nearby areas with similar plant communities are found in the south of Nuevo Leon (Cerro Pena Nevada) and Tamaulipas (Sierra de San Carlos), and both of them contain shrub and communities. forest In Pefta Nevada, Moreno-Talamantes recorded 485 most them (2012) taxa, of of nearctic origin, while in the Si- erra de San Carlos, Martinez (1995) recorded 676 taxa, most of them from neotropical The Canon de origin: Iturbide shares strong similarities with both of them, but its flora is richer in diversity since has all ecosys- it tems found in both areas, and it can be highlighted as an area for conservation of plant diversity and en- its its demism. endemic Five species in the State of Nuevo Leon were recorded Anoda in the area: leonensis, Carda- mine Dioon auriculata, angustifolium, Notholaena and From leonina, Thelocactus tulensis, Verbesina olsenii. the NOM 768 taxa recorded, seven of them are protected by 059-SEMARNAT-2010: Agave Braheaber- bracteosa, Dioon landieri, angustifolium, Echinocactus platyacanthus, Litseaglauscecens, Pinus and Thelocactus strobiformis, The new tulensis. discovery of a species, Verbesina lanulosa (in press), in this area shows that more botani- still work cal is necessary to complete the floristic studies of northeastern Mexico. The plant diversity recorded in Canon the de Iturbide includes genera and from species different origins, but the tropical elements are quanti- most tatively the important ones, since they represent about 52% of families, 68% of genera, and 32% of the and species, they are well represented in the different plant communities, piedmont oak especially scrub, for- 811 1207,2124a