Conservation Priorities for the Genus Serjania (Sapindaceae, Paullinieae), a Key Component in the Secondary Succesion of the Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest in Bolivia

Abstract

Abstract Bolivia is a country with a huge environmental variety, most of which are classified as seasonally dry forest, these ecosystems are threatened due land use, then subsequent abandonment promote the regrowth of the forest by secondary succession. Therefore, identify species that lead this process is key in order to protect them, being lianas good candidates as it the Serjania genus. Our objectives were defining conservation priorities of Serjania species richness estimation; determine environmental factors that influence the distribution of these species and understand the dynamic of the SDTFs and secondary forest in America through present and future Serjania niche modelling. Our results set the conservation priorities in the Yungas slopes and the Chiquitano dry forest of Bolivia, these are the most diverse forests formations of the country, being the Chiquitano dry forest one of the most long-term stable American dry forests. Regarding to the environmental factors, for the species that only vegetate in the Chiquitano dry forest the temperature was the most important one, while the species that inhabit in the Yungas slope the precipitation regime represent the most influential variable for the presence of the species in these habitats. As for the dynamics of the Seasonally dry forest through Serjania distribution modelling, an increase in the land coverage by these ones at the expense of their neighboring wet forest is projected, which also indicate the progression of the secondary forest due land use and climate change.