Interacciones positivas entre plantas, en Pinares sobre arenas de cuarzo de Santa Teresa

With the aim of demonstrating the existence of the nurse effect as the guiding force of positive interactions between plants in the Santa Teresa sector,belonging to the San Ubaldo-Sabanalamar Managed Floristic Reserve, Pinar del Rio, Cuba, an investigation was carried out in an open pine forest with palms on quartz sands. Six parallel linear transects of 100 m were drawn, in them, a general registry of the flora was made, the coverage was estimated following the method of the transept line; The mean values of species richness for the low nurse taxa were compared with those found in open spaces. It was determined which plants better recruit other species. Some parameters were compared in pine seedlings under the Lyonia myrtilloides Griseb canopy. and in open spaces. As a result, a phylogenetic tree of the plant community was offered, showing a high phylodiversity, being verified that the mean values of richness and abundance of species under the nurses are higher than those that occur in open spaces, and also that the Pine seedlings growing under theLyonia myrtilloides Griseb. canopy, reached a better development than in open spaces, typical behavior for the facilitation process in extreme environments.