POTENTIAL DISTRIBUTION OF THREE NATIVE AND ONE INTRODUCED GRASS SPECIES IN SEMIARID HIGHLANDS OF MEXICO USING GIS TECHNIQUES

摘要

In the arid and semiarid region of Mexico, data on three native grasses growing in diverse ecological environments—Muhlenbergia peruviana (P. Beauv.) Steud., in temperate forests; Bouteloua gracilis (Kunth) Lag. ex Griffiths, in grasslands; Muíi/enbergiaporíen Scribn. exBeal, in xeric regions; and one introduced nonnative species, Melinis repens (Willd.) Zizka (Zizka rose Natal grass)—were used in our essay analyzing their potential distribution, based on climatic factors. We took presence-only data applied to the Bioclim algorithm included in the Diva-GIS program. Using database bioclimatic WorldCl i m-Global Climate Data allowed us to make predictions of the distribution, and to determine the climatic characteristics that each species needs togrow. It generated a potential distribution of the four species under study, concluding that this method can be applied to other grass species from this geographic area in order to improve: a) knowledge of the actual distribution of species in their natural environment, b) knowledge related to biodiversity, and c) to create an indicator to support decisions related to conservation and management of grasses in Mexico. We concluded that possibly climatic requirements prevent the expansion of the introduced species (Zizka rose, Natal grass).