Abstract Detail

Floristics & Taxonomy

Gonzáles, Paúl [1], Cano, Asunción [1], Sarkinen, Tiina [2], Goodwin, Zoe [3], Valencia, Niels [4], Aparco, Warner [1], Balvin, Richard [1], Arista, Pamela [1], Marcelo-Peña, Jose Luis [5], Sachahuamán, Inés [1], Huamán, Elluz [1], Palacios, Sonia [6].

Collections, species diversity and distributions of plants in the Marañón dry forest .

The Andes of north-eastern Peru are cut by deep and arid valleys that descend steeply towards the Marañón River. These places are characterized by having a very marked seasonality where the rainy period is very short, allowing the development of a floristic composition adapted to lack water. The seasonally dry forests (SDF) of the Marañón are critical areas of biodiversity due to their high levels of endemism. However, anthropic activity is severely fragmenting forests, putting many plants and animals at risk of extinction. Despite this reality, many localities remain forgotten or little explored. In this context, we proposed to inventory and collect the wild vascular plants of the SDF of Marañón in order to increase the availability of data and fill areas with information gaps. We studied 75 areas on both flanks of the Marañón River, as well as its most important tributaries, we covered more than 300 km of the valley between degrees 6°49'-9°09'S. The sampling was carried out through rapid floristic inventories during the months of February and March 2020 and 2021 respectively, by four botanists and consisted of walking in each area paths oriented to each cardinal point for a period of one hour. We collected 12157 duplicates grouped into 4415 collection numbers. The list reaches 1300 species, of which 30% are endemic to Peru. Species richness ranged from 30 to 120 species per area. Despite this great effort, 50% of the BTES of the Marañón still remains unexplored and 90% of the explored areas register less than 200 collections per 100 km². 50% of the collections come from medium altitudes between 1400 and 2000 m. We have found that the upper altitudinal limit of the SDF of Marañón is at 2100 m, thus we also propose species that are indicative of their altitudinal and latitudinal limits. Despite the attractiveness and great scientific interest promoted by the SDF of Marañón, the lack of scientific collections is evident, which added to the disproportionality of its territorial distribution makes it more problematic. Therefore, it is urgent and necessary to implement programs that help the "decentralization of expeditions" throughout this unique valley in the world.

Related Links:
THE MARAÑÓN VALLEY

1 - Natural History Museum of National University of San Marcos, Dicotiledóneas, Av. Arenales 1256, Jesús María, Lima, Lima, 14, Perú
2 - Boise State University, Snake River Plains Herbaria, , Boise, Idaho, 83725, USA
3 - Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, 20A Inverleith Row, EH3 5LR, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
4 - Natural History Museum of National University of San Marcos, Ecology, Av. Arenales 1256, Jesús María, Lima, Lima, 14, Perú
5 - Universidad Nacional de Jaén, Carretera Jaén San Ignacio Km 23, Jaén, Cajamarca, Peru
6 - Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina., Facultad de Ciencias Forestales, Av. La Molina s/n La Molina, Lima, Peru

Keywords:
biodiversity
Phytogeography
herbarium
Inter-Andean valleys
Dry Forest.

Presentation Type: Poster
Session: P2, Floristics & Taxonomy Posters
Location: Virtual/Virtual
Date: Tuesday, July 20th, 2021
Time: 5:00 PM(EDT)
Number: P2FT014
Abstract ID:950
Candidate for Awards:None