Resumo

GUEVARA, Sergio; LABORDE, Javier  e  SANCHEZ-RIOS, Graciela. Los árboles que la selva dejó átras. INCI [online]. 2005, vol.30, n.10, pp.595-601. ISSN 0378-1844.

The American tropical landscape is characterized nowadays by extensive areas of pastures and crop-fields, in which the remaining forest fragments are immersed. Although the areas cleared for cultivation and cattle raising are mainly covered by herbaceous plants, they are not devoid of trees. Pastures and crop-fields in many areas of tropical America are usually dotted with trees that were spared when the site was cleared. Trees of different species isolated in pastures or crop-fields are not only a common feature, but an integral part of the current fragmented landscape in the Neotropics. We maintain that isolated trees of rainforest species play a fundamental role in the ecological dynamics of fragmented landscapes. In this contribution, we describe the density and floristic composition of isolated trees in the pastures of Los Tuxtlas, Mexico. We examine the effects of these trees on local fauna and flora, and their role as facilitators of rainforest regeneration in pastures. Finally, we address the importance of these trees, together with other arboreal elements of the anthropogenic landscape, to connectivity and the maintenance of local diversity.

Palavras-chave : Árboles Aislados; Conectividad; Fragmentación; Frugivoría; Potreros; Regeneración de Selvas.