Abundance and physiognomic characteristics of woody natives in a sub-urban talar forest remnant extensively invaded by exotic vegetation

Abstract

The talares are small xerophytic forests dominated by the trees Celtis tala and Scutia buxifolia, which are characteristic of the pampas in the Northeast of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. Talares coexist with areas facing significant urban and agricultural pressures, leading to their impoverishment, fragmentation, and even local extinction. Objective: To characterize a resilient talar patch within a suburban forest invaded by exotic vegetation to identify the patterns and processes currently affecting native woody species. Methods: The forest (55 ha) was divided into seven sampling sites. We assessed the abundance and physiognomic variables of native woody species through random searches (approach 1). For exotic woody species, we used a combination of transects and grids within the forest and on adjacent streets (approach 2). The analyses included descriptive statistics, index calculations, and comparisons through confidence interval establishment and Chisquare tests with Yates’ correction.