Vegetation-environment relations of the Chisos Mountains, Big Bend National Park, Texas

Abstract

The Sky Island Archipelagos of the Sierra Madre Oriental and Occidental contain a unique array of endemic flora and fauna. Plant species composition in these elevationally restricted forests is thought to vary in relation to environmental gradients. This study quantifies plant population abundance and spatial distribution patterns in pine-oak woodlands of Big Bend National Park using cluster analysis and non-metric multidimensional scaling. Results from this study indicate that vegetation abundance and spatial distribution patterns are correlated with environmental gradients of potential soil moisture and elevation. Xerophytic tree species dominate lower elevations, while mesophytic trees are found on wetter, high elevation sites.

Parent Publication

• Connecting mountain islands and desert seas: Biodiversity and management of the Madrean Archipelago II

Citation

Poulos, Helen M.; Camp, Ann E. 2005. Vegetation-environment relations of the Chisos Mountains, Big Bend National Park, Texas. Gottfried, Gerald J.; Gebow, Brooke S.; Eskew, Lane G.; Edminster, Carleton B., comps. Connecting mountain islands and desert seas: biodiversity and management of the Madrean Archipelago II. Proc. RMRS-P-36. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station: 539-544