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Abstract
A floristic study was conducted in a heterogeneous landscape near Moctezuma, Sonora. From August to December 2011, Ranchos El Rodeo and El Básora were visited three times. The vegetation at about 900 m elevation is foothills thornscrub, oak woodland, and induced buffelgrass grassland. A total of 120 plant taxa in 95 genera and 41 families were documented. Taxa were identified using regional literature, consulting with experts, and comparison with specimens in the Universidad de Sonora Herbarium. The families with more taxa are Asteraceae, Convolvulaceae, Fabaceae, and Solanaceae. The study area is a transitional zone between thornscrub oak woodland, making it an important biological corridor in central Sonora. Loss of flora is due to land use practices, especially clearing to introduce grass like buffelgrass (Pennisetum ciliare). Non-native plants could displace native taxa like Zinnia zinnioides, Ipomoea cristulata, and I. hederacea.
Parent Publication
Keywords
Madrean Archipelago,
Sky Islands,
southwestern United States,
northern Mexico,
natural environment,
fauna,
flora,
research,
management,
biodiversity,
climate change
Citation
Hernandez-Rodriguez, Ana Lilia; Montanez-Armenta, Maria de la Paz; Yanes-Arvayo, Gertrudis; Silva-Kurumiya, Hugo. 2013. Floristic analysis of heterogeneous landscape patches in a biological corridor in the El Rodeo-Basora Area near Moctezuma, Sonora, Mexico. In: Gottfried, Gerald J.; Ffolliott, Peter F.; Gebow, Brooke S.; Eskew, Lane G.; Collins, Loa C. Merging science and management in a rapidly changing world: Biodiversity and management of the Madrean Archipelago III and 7th Conference on Research and Resource Management in the Southwestern Deserts; 2012 May 1-5; Tucson, AZ. Proceedings. RMRS-P-67. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 474-476.
