RESUMEN
RESUMEN Se estudió la diversidad vegetal en parcelas de bosques de galería, bosques de vega, morichales, matas de monte, bancos de sabana, bajos de sabana y esteros, así como de inventarios ad libitum. En total, se registraron 318 especies y 206 géneros de 80 familias, siendo la más diversa la familia Poaceae, con 29 especies, seguida de Euphorbiaceae, con 17 especies. Los géneros más diversos fueron Phyllantus y Panicum, con siete especies. Los tipos de vegetación con mayor riqueza fueron los bosques de galería, los bajos de sabana y los morichales. La composición, a nivel de familias en los bosques, es similar a la reportada en otros estudios, pero las especies son diferentes, sugiriendo dominancia local, debida a la heterogeneidad espacial. Con este estudio, se incrementó el número de especies registradas para el departamento de Casanare, de 1.479 a 1.562.
SUMMARY We studied plant diversity in forest plots of bosques de galería, bosques de vega, morichales, matas de monte, bancos de sabana, bajos de sabana y esteros, as well as ad libitum inventories. A total of 318 species and 80 genera of 206 families were found, being Poaceae the most diverse family with 29 species, followed by Euphorbiaceae with 17 species. The most diverse genera were Phyllantus and Panicum with seven species. The types of vegetation with the greatest diversity were bosques de galería, bajos de sabana and morichales. The composition of families in forests is similar to that reported in other studies, but species composition is different suggesting local dominance due to spatial heterogeneity. With this study, there was an increase in the number of species recorded for the department of Casanare from 1479 to 1562.
RESUMEN
Accelerated degradation of the wetlands and fragmentation of surrounding vegetation in the Andean-Orinoco Piedmont are the main threats to diversity and ecological integrity of these ecosystems; however, information on this topic is of limited availability. In this region, we evaluated the value of 37 lentic wetlands as reservoirs of woody and aquatic plants and analyzed diversity and changes in species composition within and among groups defined according to management given by: (1) type (swamps, heronries, rice fields, semi-natural lakes, constructed lakes and fish farms) and (2) origins (natural, mixed and artificial). A total of 506 plant species were recorded: 80% woody and 20% aquatic. Of these, 411 species (81%) were considered species typical of the area (Meta Piedmont distribution). Diversity patterns seem to be driven by high landscape heterogeneity and wetland management. The fish farms presented the highest diversity of woody plants, while swamps ranked highest for aquatic plant diversity. Regarding wetland origin, the artificial systems were the most diverse, but natural wetlands presented the highest diversity of typical species and can therefore be considered representative ecosystems at the regional scale. Our results suggest that lentic wetlands act as refuges for native vegetation of Meta Piedmont forest, hosting 55% of the woody of Piedmont species and 29% of the aquatic species of Orinoco basin. The wetlands showed a high species turnover and the results indicated that small wetlands (mean ± SD: size = 11 ± 18.7 ha), with a small area of surrounding forest (10 ± 8.6 ha) supported high local and regional plant diversity. To ensure long-term conservation of lentic wetlands, it is necessary to develop management and conservation strategies that take both natural and created wetlands into account.