Changes in the diversity and structure of forest formations in an elevation gradient of Quebrada de Ailuu, Province of Tucumán, Argentina

AZARO JUAN MANUEL; VICTORIA LIEN LOPEZ; JUAN MANUEL CELLINI

Conferencia; The 2nd International Electronic Conference on Forests ? Sustainable Forests: Ecology, Management, Products and Trade; 2021

An ecoregion is a territory in which certain relief characteristics, types of vegetation and fauna complexes dominate. The Yungas ecoregion is made up of different elevational levels: Pedemontana jungle, montane jungle; Montane forest and montane grassland. The following work was carried out in the Quebrada de Ailuu, Province of Tucumán, it describes the changes in the diversity, composition and structure of the forest formations in an elevation gradient that includes the montane forest, the montane forest and a transition between both of them. Plots were installed in an altitudinal gradient from 1077 m a.s.l. up to 2233 m a.s.l. in which the altitude data was taken, the recognition of the species and the measurement of the normal diameter at 1.3 m (DBH) of the trees greater than 7 cm. With this information, the density (ind.ha-1) and the basal area (m2.ha-1) were calculated for each sampling unit. The information of the species found in each plot, the proportion of the density and the basal area of ​​the characteristic species of each floor was used to locate each sampling unit on an altitudinal floor. The montane forest was located at 1278.4 m asl to 1321.0, the montane forest from 1537.6 m asl to 1614.9 m asl and the transition between both floors between 1977.1 m asl and the 2013.2 m asl The forest formations considered in this work tend to decrease in complexity and diversity as the altitude at which they are found increases. The SM and the BM clearly differ from each other as distinct communities. The transition presents a specific intermediate composition, although with a greater similarity to the montane forest. These characteristics are strongly linked to the different ecological and environmental situations conditioned by the height.