Abstract

JIMENEZ-ESCOBAR, NÉSTOR DAVID  and  RANGEL-CH, J. ORLANDO. Abundance, dominance and their relationship to use of tree species in Cispatá Bay, Caribbean region of Colombia. Caldasia [online]. 2012, vol.34, n.2, pp.347-366. ISSN 0366-5232.

Traditional knowledge of useful tree species was documented in a rural community from the Bay of Cispatá. The relationship of knowledge about a species' use to its relative dominance was assessed for tree species represented in mangrove forests. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 31 informants, and the relative cultural importance indices were calculated for each species based on their responses. Dominance and abundance of tree species in natural areas were assessed in three zones classified according to the proximity of the community. One hundred and twenty species were recorded and associated with 152 common names. The tree species recognized by the informants corresponded to 38 families and 97 genera. The families with the greatest number of useful species were Leguminosae sensu lato (19 species), followed by Malvaceae (9), Arecaceae (8), Anacardiaceae, Annonaceae and Moraceae (6). A total of 58 uses were recorded and classified in twelve categories. The dominant and most abundant species in the ecosystem is Rhizophora mangle, which also had the highest relative cultural importance values. An overall positive relationship was found between species dominance and the knowledge of species uses. The areas of vegetation closer to the community had the greatest species richness; the proximity of the community to these areas might be putting pressure on the natural resources.

Keywords : Mangrove forests; rural communities; ethnobotany; apparency hypothesis.

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