Studies on the Vegetation of Puerto Rico PDF Download

Author: Pierre Dansereau
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Botany
Languages : en
Pages : 286

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Book Description
Existing vegetation structures, including cultivated types, were examined in the field, in terms of ecological, botanical, and physiognomic characteristics. Sampling ranged from subjective examination to detailed quantitative description, as practiced by the U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station. Eight zones, each comprising distinctive aggregations of plant-communities, were identified: Lilloral, Lowland Rainforest, Seasonal Evergreen Forest, Hill Scrub, Semi-deciduous Forest, Lower Montane Rainforest, Montane Forest, and Montane Scrub. Each plant-community in each zone was described in terms of formation type, dominant habit-form, heights of strata, floristic composition and abundance, and site features. A 'type physiognomy' was determined for each plant species identified, and recorded in terms of Dansereau descriptors (life-form, leaf size, habit-form, leaf shape, leaf texture, seasonality, dispersal type, and floristic element. Photographs and diagrams illustrate releves and plant-communities. A detailed map of vegetation physiognomies was constructed for the Roosevelt Roads area by photointerpretation controlled by intensive ground sampling. Almost all basic variations in physiognomy could be detected by photointerpretation. (Author).