Estudio florístico del bosque siempreverde de páramo dentro de la Reserva de Producción de Fauna Chimborazo, cantón Mocha, provincia Tungurahua.

Abstract

This research proposes to study the existing flora in the evergreen forest to paramo within the Chimborazo Fauna Production Reserve in Mocha - Tungurahua province, through a floristic inventory. Three square plots of 60x60m were installed forming a conglomerate with a distance of 250 m between plots. Height and DAP data were taken; species infertile samples state were collected to later identify them in the ESPOCH herbarium. In the inventory, a total of 728 individuals were identified among trees and shrubs belonging to 6 families, 10 genera and 15 species of which the most abundant arboreal species is Polylepis reticulata with 210 individuals and the most abundant shrub species is Gynoxis buxifolia with 49 individuals. Polylepis reticulata had a higher importance value Index (IVI), with 128.58%. The evergreen forest of paramo presented an index of average diversity in arboreal species, while in the arbustive part it presented a high diversity index, and it can be said that it is a heterogeneous community. When talking about Sorensen´s similarity index and Bray-Curtis similarity percentage in arboreal species, plot 1 vs. plot 3 show greater similarity, and in shrub species, plot 1 vs. plot 2 present a higher percentage of similarity, whereas plot 2 vs. plot 3 presented low similarity percentages, both in arboreal and shrub species. To evaluate the vertical structure the total height of the individuals was used, distributing them in three strata, being the stratum III the one that greater percentage of individuals presented with 44.37%, while the stratum I with 17.86% of the individuals, it was the one that minor individuals registered. Keywords: FLORISTIC STUDY – EVERGREEN FOREST – PARAMO FLORA.