Pedodiversity in mountainous tropical semideciduous forests of Sierra Madre del Sur, Mexico

Abstract

We studied pedodiversity in mountainous tropical semideciduous forests at three key sites in Sierra Madre del Sur, Southern Mexico, at the altitudes from 600 to 1400 m a.s.l. Using detailed soil maps, we recorded the total number and the areas of soil delineations at each site, and calculated the pedodiversity indices. We found that pedodiversity increases with an increase in the absolute height within the zone of semideciduous forests, and interpreted this phenomenon as an evidence for a smaller development of erosion at higher altitudes. The areas of soil delineations reach their minimum within the intermediate part of this zone, because large delineations of strongly weathered clayey soils are developed at the higher altitudes, and large delineations of recent soils on strongly eroded surfaces are found at the lower altitudes. A conclusion about the need to take into account the particular composition of the soil cover upon the interpretation of pedodiversity data is made.