Analysis of natural regeneration in an 11-years old restored area in the tamaulipan thornscrub

Abstract

Natural regeneration assessment is important to determine the reestablishment of the plant community in plantations for ecological restoration purposes. This work evaluated the structure of natural plant regeneration in an 11-year-old plantation in the tamaulipan thorn scrub. A total of 25 plots of 10 x 10 m each was established in a systematic way, where planted and naturally regenerated plant community was evaluated. We compared abundance, dominance, frequency, volume and importance value index (IVI) per plant community. A total of 35 species, 28 genera and 16 families were recorded. The family with the highest number of species was Fabaceae with 14. In the reforested plant community, 20 species were recorded, while in the naturally regenerated community 29 were recorded, with 14 species shared between them. The four species with the highest abundance, basal area, crown area and importance value index in the plantation were Neltuma glandulosa, Vachellia farnesiana, Cordia boisseiri and Leucophyllum frutescens. They also showed the highest IVI in the natural regeneration. Abundance (N/ha) was similar between the plant communities evaluated (p=0.99), while specific richness, basal area (m²/ha), crown area (m²/ha) and volume (m³/ha) were higher in the plantation. Regarding beta diversity, the plant communities share 39.96% of the species.