Expansion of the agricultural frontier on riparian vegetation of Santa Cruz River, Cuba

• Main Authors: Felipe Carricarte Rodríguez, Alfredo Jiménez González, Paula Santoyo Armenteros, Marcela Mercedes Pincay Pilay, Tayron Omar Manrique Toala
• Format: Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: Universidad de Pinar del Río "Hermanos Saíz Montes de Oca" 2016-12-01
• Series: Revista Cubana de Ciencias Forestales
• Subjects: perturbaciones, microcuenca, estructura, diversidad biológica
• Online Access: http://cfores.upr.edu.cu/index.php/cfores/article/view/141

The work was developed in the Los Amaros, the Santa Cruz river, Artemisa, Cuba. The objective was to evaluate how it influences the expansion of the agricultural frontier on riparian vegetation where the semi-deciduous mesophytic forest (BsdMe) predominates. A floristic characterization was performed, identifying the effects of disturbances on the structure and composition of these forests and their relation to human disturbance. A semi-structured interview was applied to all landowners in the study area. Species richness, dominance, basal area, total number of individuals, width of the strip covered by trees and shrubs, and area without vegetation on both banks of the river, respectively were considered as variables. There are differences in the structure and patterns of diversity of the studied forest, as a result of disturbances, with the consequent reduction of species; also anthropogenic disturbances, are the main factors that explain changes in the structure of these forests. They are identified as major species: Cupania macrophylla A. Rich., Roystonea regia HBK O. F. Cook., Guarea guidonia L. Sleumer and Trichilia hirta  L. It is proposed to deepen the effect of the expansion of agriculture into other sectors of the river in interaction with local communities.