The habitats of Leptochloopsis virgata in the Dominican Republic

Abstract

This paper deals with the Leptochloopsis virgata esparto patches growing in the Dominican Republic. These communities thrive mostly in shaded areas, as happens in the southwest of the island and the Cibao valley, where xericity records are high and vegetative inactivity lasts for over 7 months. The Leptochloopsis virgata esparto patches tend to be located in the Caribbean-Atlantic Subprovince, on the Quaternary marls of the Cibao valley, Azua, Bani, Lago Enriquillo, and on the serpentines of Puerto Plata, with an ombrotype ranging from semiarid to subhumid, but with a semiarid and dry character in the areas colonized by the espartillo and a thermotype which always remains infra-tropical. The high percentage of endemic species and media give rise to a high number of endemic, ecologically and geobotanically, highly valuable habitats. This paper suggests two new alliances and four associations. These latter, a least, present an endemic character and, consequently, should be considered as priority habitats for preservation purposes, since they are located in man-altered areas and the risk of species extinction cannot be ignored.