Plant community associations with morpho-topographic, geological and land use attributes in a semi-deciduous tropical forest of the Dominican Republic

Abstract

Despite being increasingly threatened by human-induced disturbances, dry forests remain the least studied and protected forest types in the Caribbean region. In contrast to many other forest systems in the world, we have little knowledge of the site-specific variation in vegetation communities within these forests nor understand how plant species distribution is determined by environmental variables, including geological attributes. Here, we aimed to provide evidence of the relationship between biodiversity and geodiversity, by assessing the associations between plant communities and habitat types in a semi-deciduous forest of the Dominican Republic.