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THE MACAL RIVER: A FLORISTIC AND PHYTOSOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF A THREATENED RIVERINE VEGETATION COMMUNITY IN BELIZE

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 August 2006

L. URBAN ,
S. G. M. BRIDGEWATER  and
D. J. HARRIS
L. URBAN
Affiliation:
Current address: Arkansas Herbarium, Biomass Research Center 141, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA. E-mail: lurban@uark.edu Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, 20A Inverleith Row, Edinburgh EH3 5LR, UK
S. G. M. BRIDGEWATER
Affiliation:
Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK
D. J. HARRIS
Affiliation:
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, 20A Inverleith Row, Edinburgh EH3 5LR, UK
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Abstract

A species checklist is presented for a stretch of the seasonally flooded Macal River in the Cayo District of Belize, together with preliminary phytosociological data for the primary riverine communities. A total of 229 species were recorded in the seasonally flooded riparian zone, representing 7% of the flora of Belize. Results of quantitative sampling indicate that Inga vera subsp. vera dominates the river corridor. Other important woody associates include Cuphea calophylla, C. utriculosa, Calyptranthes bartlettii, C. lindeniana, Lindenia rivalis, Pleuranthodendron lindenii, Calliandra tergemina and Nectandra salicifolia. One of the most significant threats to riparian vegetation in the region is the Chalillo Dam upstream of the study site. The current work provides baseline floristic and ecological data for this threatened riparian habitat and documents the structure and composition of vegetation that exists downstream from the dam before its construction.

Keywords

BelizeChalillo DamfloristicsMacal RiverMaya Mountainsphytosociologyriparian vegetationriverine community
Type
Articles
Information
Edinburgh Journal of Botany , Volume 63 , Issue 1 , March 2006 , pp. 95 - 118
Copyright
2006, Trustees of the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh

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