Abstract

CANTERO, Juan José et al. Flora of marble and serpentinite outcrops of the Sierras de Córdoba (Argentina). Kurtziana [online]. 2011, vol.36, n.2, pp.11-45. ISSN 1852-5962.

Rock outcrops are important habitats for biodiversity conservation. This paper provides a catalog of species of vascular plants that grow on limestone (marble) and serpentinites of the Sierra de Córdoba, describing the compositional variation of its flora and exploring the lithological-geochemical control on the distribution of the floristic groups. Thirty-one (31) outcrops were surveyed in an area that extended about 280 km in latitude and 120 km in length (30 ° 42 &#';33 ° 5' Lat. South 64 ° 20 &#';65 ° 20' Long. West) and from 500 m.s.m. to 2000 m.s.m. The average sampling area in each outcrop was approximately 2725 m² where the inventory of all vascular plant species and the lithological sampling for subsequent evaluation of the rock geochemistry were performed. There were 404 species distributed in 67 families and 255 genera. Six new records for Córdoba province are provided. The endemoflora of all studied outcrops comprises 88 species. The average species richness of the outcrop was 68 and the average diversity H = 4.14. The total of medicinal species in the outcrops was 212. The hemicryptophytes (52%), chamaephytes (17%), phanerophytes (16%) and geophytes (9%) were the dominant life form. The floristic composition at the regional level, variable along the geographic gradient (and climate), overshadows local environmental variation (geochemistry, altitude) between the outcrops. Using available data richness, diversity, number of endemic species and rarity we could identify a minimum set of otcrops that should be included in conservation plans in both the provincial and national level.

Keywords : Afloramientos rocosos; Mármoles; Serpentinitas; Flora.

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