Population and Community Ecology
Population and Community Ecology
Cacti show considerable diversity of life form in tropical and subtropical America. Species diversity increases considerably toward the tropics, Mexico being the most important center, with 850 species and 54 genera. This chapter considers the key aspects in the population and community ecology of cacti. It examines how abiotic and biotic factors interact to influence the distribution and abundance of a particular species, leading to particular survivorship, fecundity, growth patterns, and groups of species, with an emphasis on the maintenance of biodiversity. To understand the population dynamics of cacti, the relative importance of abiotic and biotic factors should be assessed. The chapter also analyzes the geomorphic history of the localities in which populations of cacti occur to understand population dynamics at the landscape level.
Keywords: cacti, population, community ecology, abiotic factors, biotic factors, survivorship, fecundity, growth patterns, biodiversity, population dynamics
California Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs, and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us.
