Soil properties and seedling establishment in soils from monodominant and high-diversity stands of the tropical deciduous forests of Mexico

摘要

The hypothesis that soils from mature monodominant forests are unfavourable for establishment of tree species other than the dominant species was tested for a lowland tropical deciduous forest with stands dominated by Celaenodendron mexicanum (CS).This species of Euphorbiaceae occurs almost exclusively in monodominant stands in which recruitment of other species appears to be poor. Soil properties were examined and experiments were conducted on germination and establishment of Celaenodendron mexicanum and 3 other species common in adjacent high-diversity mixed stands (MS): Recchia mexicana, Caesalpinia eriostachys and Cordia alliodora. Soil moisture regimes are affected by topographic position in the study area, but Celaenodendron mexicanum was found occupying hillsides as well as flatlands, and slope gradients of its stands were typical of the region. The microsites occupied in relation to soil moisture and light availability also appeared to be undistinctive. There were no significant differences between stand types in any soil property (pH, organic carbon, total N, total P, available P, K, Ca, Mg, Na, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn concentrations). A stand of intermediate dominance of Celaenodendron (ICS) did not differ from its adjacent mixed stand (MS) insoil texture or most of the nutrients tested; however, seasonally restricted differences in the contents of Fe and Mn (ICS