Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dzt6s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-21T02:29:38.417Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A FLORISTIC DESCRIPTION OF THE SAN PASTOR SAVANNA, BELIZE, CENTRAL AMERICA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 June 2011

J. Hicks ,
Z. A. Goodwin ,
S. G. M. Bridgewater ,
D. J. Harris  and
P. A. Furley
J. Hicks
Affiliation:
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, 20A Inverleith Row, Edinburgh EH3 5LR, Scotland, UK.
Z. A. Goodwin
Affiliation:
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, 20A Inverleith Row, Edinburgh EH3 5LR, Scotland, UK.
S. G. M. Bridgewater
Affiliation:
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, 20A Inverleith Row, Edinburgh EH3 5LR, Scotland, UK.
D. J. Harris
Affiliation:
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, 20A Inverleith Row, Edinburgh EH3 5LR, Scotland, UK. Author for correspondence. E-mail: d.harris@rbge.ac.uk
P. A. Furley
Affiliation:
Institute of Geography, School of GeoSciences, The University of Edinburgh, Drummond Street, Edinburgh EH8 9XP, Scotland, UK.
Get access

Abstract

A vascular plant species list and description is provided for the San Pastor Savanna, an isolated area of savanna within the Chiquibul Forest Reserve, Belize. Of the 126 species recorded, 28 are new records for the Chiquibul Forest Reserve with one previously unrecorded for the country. The maintenance of the current vegetation classification under the Belize Ecosystems Map for the San Pastor Savanna is supported. The coarse-textured soils are typical for extremely seasonal climates with some evidence of prolonged inundation during wet periods and dry seasons affected by burning. Although clear floristic affinities exist with other local and regional savanna areas, the San Pastor Savanna has some unique features and its flora includes national endemics. Although it is currently protected as part of the Chiquibul Forest Reserve and this status should be maintained, its inaccessible location makes frequent monitoring by the Forest Department problematic. Through providing a source of water and a source of forage for horses, the San Pastor Savanna plays a pivotal role in supporting the illegal Chamaedorea (xaté) palm leaf harvesting industry. This activity has also adversely impacted local wildlife. Like the nearby Mountain Pine Ridge, the San Pastor Savanna has suffered intense pine beetle (Dendroctonus spp.) attack.

Keywords

BelizefloristicsphytogeographyPinus caribaeaPinus tecunumaniisavannawetlands
Type
Articles
Information
Edinburgh Journal of Botany , Volume 68 , Issue 2 , July 2011 , pp. 273 - 296
Copyright
Copyright © Trustees of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alho, C. J. R. & Souza Martins, E. (1995). Bit by bit the Cerrado loses space. Brasília, Brazil: WWF.Google Scholar
Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (2003). An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG II. Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 141(4): 399–436.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Balick, M. J., Nee, M. N. & Atha, D. A. (2000). Checklist of the Vascular Plants of Belize. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 85. New York: The New York Botanical Garden Press.Google Scholar
Bateson, J. H. & Hall, I. H. S. (1977). The geology of the Maya Mountains. Overseas Memoir, Institute of Geological Science 3: 1–43.Google Scholar
Beard, J. S. (1953). The savanna vegetation of northern tropical America. Ecol. Monogr. 23(2): 149–215.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Billings, R. F. & Schmidtke, P. J. (2002). Central American Southern Pine Beetle/Fire Management Assessment. Unpublished report. College Station, TX: USAID.Google Scholar
Bridgewater, S. G. M., Ibáñez, A., Ratter, J. A. & Furley, P. A. (2002). Vegetation classification and floristics of the savannas and associated wetlands of the Rio Bravo Conservation and Management Area, Belize. Edinburgh J. Bot. 59: 421–442.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bridgewater, S. G. M., Harris, D. J., Whitefoord, C., Monro, A. K., Penn, M. G., Sutton, D. A. et al. . (2006a). A preliminary checklist of the vascular plants of the Chiquibul Forest, Belize. Edinburgh J. Bot. 63: 269–321.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bridgewater, S. G. M., Pickles, P., Garwood, N. C., Penn, M. G., Bateman, R. M., Morgan, H. P. et al. . (2006b). Chamaedorea (Xaté) in the Greater Maya Mountains and the Chiquibul Forest Reserve, Belize: an economic assessment of a Non-Timber Forest Product. Econ. Bot. (New York) 60: 265–283.Google Scholar
Conservation International (2004). Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund. Ecosystem Profile: Northern region of the Mesoamerica biodiversity hotspot. Report, Conservation International, Mexico and Central American Program.Google Scholar
Da Silveira Lobo Sternberg, L. (2001). Savanna–forest hysteresis in the tropics. Global Ecol. Biogeogr. 10(4): 369–378.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
FAO (1988). FAO–UNESCO Soil Map of the World. Revised Legend. World Soil Resources Report 60. Rome: FAO.Google Scholar
Farjon, A. & Styles, B. T. (1997). Pinus (Pinaceae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 75. New York: The New York Botanical Garden.Google Scholar
Farruggia, F. T., Stevens, M. H. H. & Vincent, M. A. (2008). A floristic description of a neotropical coastal savanna in Belize. Caribb. J. Sci. 44(1): 53–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Furley, P. A. (1974a). Soil-slope–plant relationships in the Northern Maya Mountains, Belize. 1. The sequence over metamorphic sandstones and shales. J. Biogeogr. 1(3): 171–186.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Furley, P. A. (1974b). Soil-slope–plant relationships in the Northern Maya Mountains, Belize. 2. The sequence over phyllites and granites. J. Biogeogr. 1(4): 263–279.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Furley, P. A. (1976). Soil-slope–plant relationships in the Northern Maya Mountains, Belize. 3. Variations in the nature and distribution of soil properties. J. Biogeogr. 3(3): 303–319.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Furley, P. A. (1999). Does biodiversity affect savanna functioning? A review of Solbrig, O. T., Medina, E. & Silva, J. F. (1996), ‘Biodiversity and Savanna Ecosystem Processes: A Global Perspective’. Global Ecol. Biogeogr. 8(1): 76–77.Google Scholar
Furley, P. A. & Ratter, J. A. (1986). Further observations of the nature of the savanna vegetation and soils in Belize. In: Munro, D. M. (ed.) Ecology and Environment in Belize: An account of the University of Edinburgh Expedition to Belize, pp. 9–35. Occasional Paper 12, Geography Department, University of Edinburgh.Google Scholar
Hutyra, L. R., Munger, J. W., Nobre, C. A., Saleska, S. R., Vieira, S. A. & Wofsy, S. C. (2005). Climatic variability and vegetation vulnerability in Amazonia. Geophys. Res. Lett. 32: L24712.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Iremonger, S. & Brokaw, N. (1995). Vegetation classification and mapping methodology as a basis for gap analysis of protected area coverage in Belize. In: Towards a National Protected Area Systems Plan for Belize. Programme for Belize & Inter-American Development Bank Synthesis Report.Google Scholar
IUCN (2009). IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.2. www.iucnredlist.org(downloaded on 12 January 2010).Google Scholar
Johnson, M. S. & Chaffey, D. R. (1973). A Forest Inventory of part of the Mountain Pine Ridge, Belize. Land Resource Study No. 13. Surbiton, England: Land Resource Division.Google Scholar
Kellman, M. (1979). Soil enrichment by neotropical savanna trees. J. Ecol. 67: 565–577.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kellman, M. (1985). Forest seedling establishment in neotropical savannas: transplant experiments with Xylopia frutescens and Calophyllum brasiliense. J. Biogeogr. 12(4): 373–379.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kellman, M. & Tackaberry, R. (1993). Distribution and tree species coexistence in tropical riparian forest fragments. Global Ecol. Biogeogr. Lett. 3: 1–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laughlin, D. C. (2002). Flora of the Pine Savanna at Monkey Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, Belize. Caribb. J. Sci. 38(1–2): 151–155.Google Scholar
Lenthal, J., Bridgewater, S. & Furley, P. (1999). A phytogeographic analysis of the woody elements of New World savannas. Edinburgh J. Bot. 56: 293–305.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meerman, J. C. & Sabido, W. (2001). Central American Ecosystems: Belize, vols I and II. Belize City, Belize: Programme for Belize.Google Scholar
Midtgaard, F. & Thunes, K. H. (2003). Pine Bark Beetles in the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve, Belize: Description of the Species and Advice on Monitoring and Combating the Beetle Infestations. Isadalto, Norway: Norwegian Forestry Group, Inter-American Development Bank.Google Scholar
Mistry, J. (2000). World Savannas: Ecology and Human Use. London: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Mitchell, K. (2007). Quantitative Analysis by the Point-Centered Quarter Method. Geneva, NY: Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Hobart and William Smith Colleges.Google Scholar
Munsell, A. H. (1994). Munsell Soil Color Charts. New York: Macbeth Division of Kollmorgan Instruments Corporation.Google Scholar
Nix, H. A. (1983). Climate of tropical savannas. In: Bourlière, F. (ed.) Ecosystems of the World: Tropical Savannas, vol. 13, pp. 37–61. Amsterdam: Elsevier Scientific Publishing.Google Scholar
Penn, M. G., Sutton, D. A. & Monro, A. (2004). Vegetation of the Greater Maya Mountains, Belize. Syst. Biodivers. 2: 21–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pither, R. & Kellman, M. (2002). Tree species diversity in small, tropical riparian forest fragments in Belize, Central America. Biodivers. Conserv. 11: 1623–1636.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ratter, J. A., Ribeiro, J. F. & Bridgewater, S. (1997). The Brazilian cerrado vegetation and threats to its biodiversity. Ann. Bot. 80(3): 223–230.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Redford, K. H. (1992). The empty forest. BioScience 42: 412–422.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sarmiento, G. (1984). The Ecology of Neotropical Savannas. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Standley, P. C. & Record, S. J. (1936). The Forests and Flora of British Honduras. Publ. Field Mus. Nat. Hist., Bot. Ser. 12: 1–432.Google Scholar
Standley, P. C. & Steyermark, J. A. (1958). Pinaceae. In: Standley, P. C. & Steyermark, J. A. (eds) Flora of Guatemala – Part I, Fieldiana, Bot. 24(1): 36–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stevens, P. F. (2008). Angiosperm Phylogeny website. Version 7. www.mobot.org/MOBOT/research/Apweb/ (accessed November 2009).Google Scholar
Taylor, B. W. (1963). An outline of the vegetation of Nicaragua. J. Ecol. 51: 27–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thorpe, J. E. & Stoddart, D. R. (1962). Cambridge Expedition to British Honduras. Geogr. J. 128(2): 158–171.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van de Vijver, C. A. D. M., Foley, C. A. & Olff, H. (1999). Changes in the woody component of an East African savanna during 25 years. J. Trop. Ecol. 15: 545–564.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wright, A. C. S., Romney, D. H., Arbuckle, R. H. & Vial, V. E. (1959). Land in British Honduras. Colonial Research Publications 24. London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office.Google Scholar