Vegetation of the greater Maya Mountains, Belize

Abstract

This paper describes a new vegetation classification for the Greater Maya Mountains of Belize, focusing primarily on the Chiquibul Forest Reserve. Extensive use is made of GIS, remote sensing, botanical collections and field visits to provide a macro-and meso-scale overview of the vegetation of this region. A total of 32 vegetation classes have been defined, both geographically and structurally, including 11 new classes. Where possible, classes have been compared with earlier classifications. A dominant scaling technique has been used to enable direct comparison between ground truthing data and a supervised Maximum Likelihood Classifier image-based vegetation classification. The merits of such classifications and the effect of scale are discussed.

Edaphic influences on plant community adaptation in the Chiquibul forest of Belize

“…The four MPR sites occur within two slightly different vegetation zones, both of which belong to the broad dSavannahT class of Penn et al (2004). Specifically, MPR1 is located in dSavannah: class 18, oak and pineT, whereas MPR2, 3 and 4 occur within Penn et al (2004).…”

“…Specifically, MPR1 is located in dSavannah: class 18, oak and pineT, whereas MPR2, 3 and 4 occur within Penn et al (2004). dSavannah: class 17, pine forestT.…”

“…dSavannah: class 17, pine forestT. Detailed descriptions of each vegetation class can be found in Penn et al (2004); a brief description follows. Vegetation class 18 is dominated by species of oak, primarily Quercus oleoides Schltdl.…”

“…Within the forest, large areas of two markedly contrasting soil types occur juxtaposed within a larger region of similar climate, permitting direct and unambiguous assessment of edaphic contributions to forest composition. The Chiquibul forest is additionally suitable for such a comparative study because the region has for many decades been the subject of numerous, detailed vegetation surveys (Lundell, 1937;Wright et al, 1959;Iremonger and Brokaw, 1995;Penn et al, 2004). The objective of this study was therefore to identify those soil properties most important to plant community adaptation, as well as forest composition and structure, in a tropical ecosystem.…”

Evaluation of a Long-Term Amphibian Monitoring Protocol in Central America

“…The station is situated at approximately 500-m elevation on the northern slope of the Maya Mountains in deciduous forest and deciduous/ semievergreen seasonal forest (Penn et al, 2004). Annual rainfall is approximately 1,500 mm.…”