Spatiotemporal diversity patterns of grasses in tropical dry insular ecosystems Natural History & Systematics

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Password • 454464

Grasses are one of the preponderant elements in Cabo Verde´s flora. With an invaluable environmental role, these species are extremely relevant to the local economy (e.g., forage or grazing, and human food supply). This insular country faces scarcity and irregularity of rains, and recurrent droughts which strongly affect the natural ecosystems and limit sustainable development.

Within this study, we disclose the temporal and spatial conditions constraining the distribution of grasses in the islands. Over an extensive inventory (online databases, herbaria, fieldwork), considering a timescale from 1929 to 2OO7, we contrast two climatic periods (wet and dry, ca. 4O-years each), and the effect of topographic conditions (altitude and windward vs leeward aspects) to identify the diversity and distribution patterns of the species and their functional traits in the archipelago. Therefore, the identification of floristic changes in response to adverse climatic conditions can help mitigate the effects of climate change, supporting the effective restoration and conservation of dry ecosystems.

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