Advances in the Knowledge of the Vegetation of Hispaniola (Caribbean Central America)

Abstract

The vegetation types and floristic diversity in the Dominican Republic are analysed, a territory with a tropical climate and ombrotypes that range from dry to humid-hyperhumid, due to the Atlantic winds and the phenomenon known as rain shadows. The presence of high mountains and different substrates have led to a rich flora, and as a result, a high diversity of habitats, among which two large forest types are particularly notable: (1) the dry forest with 81 endemic species, of which 10 are trees, 65 shrubs, 5 climbers and 1 herbaceous species, and an absence of epiphytes and (2) the cloud forest with 19 trees, 20 shrubs, 8 climbers, 4 epiphytes, and 6 herbaceous species. In all cases, these plant communities are regarded as endemic due to their high rate of endemic species. In spite of their importance for conservation, these habitats are highly deteriorated due to deforestation for agriculture, to obtain timber, and even to add to tourism infrastructures.

The cloud forest in the Dominican Republic: diversity and conservation status

“…However, the areas exposed to greater environmental impact, as is the case of biogeographical sectors such as the Cordillera Oriental range which are subjected to significant human pressure, have less floristic diversity and a lower number of endemic species. No significant differences can be seen between the relevés in the Shannon diversity index, whose values range between DR3 with indexes of Sh = 2.451, and DR12 with higher values of Sh = 3.972 (Table 5); this does not imply that DR3 is poorly conserved [27], but simply that there is an almost complete predominance of the faithful species Prestoea montana , which has a high cover and very few companion species. However, relevé DR12 contains many individuals with low cover and a high rate of companion species.…”

Phytosociological Study, Diversity and Conservation Status of the Cloud Forest in the Dominican Republic

“…There are also other studies by several authors on the cloud forest in the Cordillera Central, Septentrional, and Oriental ranges [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ]. All these works, together with previous studies carried out by ourselves [ 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ], have enabled us to undertake the present work. All the aforementioned studies focus attention on the knowledge of the flora, with only passing references to the vegetation.…”

“…Once the description of the 4 plant associations were made, we planned to find out the degree of conservation: for this we chose to apply the Shannon-Webeaver index or the H' index. This measures specific diversity applying the method revealed by Cano-Ortiz et al [29], which takes into account the relationship between the total diversity of species, the diversity of characteristics and companions. In this relationship, it is clear that each community will be better conserved, and the less its diversity of companions and the greater its diversity of characteristics, the closer it will be to total diversity.…”