A challenge in community ecology is the development of ecosystem baselines, allowing the assessment of the variation in the ecological dynamics through different temporal and spatial scales. To our best knowledge, no studies have been carried out in seasonal evergreen forests of Belize to establish a baseline for future monitoring. Hence, a floristic study of the woody plant species diversity and composition was carried out at the Billy Barquedier National Park (BBNP) to develop an ecosystemic baseline for the assessment of the originally implemented conservation strategies. A thorough floristic survey was performed from May to August 2015 in 42 rectangular plots (500 m2) randomly allocated along the 100 to 500 m elevation gradient of the BBNP. Species richness, diversity, composition, and aboveground biomass were assessed. Likewise, information of a series of indicators on protection and risk situation (e.g., IUCN Red List of threatened species, CITES categories), and restoration for each relevant species are also provided. The BBNP is an important forest with 67 woody species distributed in 30 plant families. Terminalia amazona and Corozo palm Attalea cohune are the most important species in the reserve, in terms of abundance, frequency, and biomass. A clear trend between biodiversity metrics, elevation, and aboveground biomass was noted. This study contributes to understand relevant ecological topics as well as provides key elements for the management and conservation of the BBNP area and Belize.

中文翻译：

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受保护的热带常绿森林伯利兹的植物区系组成、多样性和生物量

社区生态学的一个挑战是生态系统基线的发展，允许通过不同的时间和空间尺度评估生态动态的变化。据我们所知，尚未在伯利兹的季节性常绿林中开展研究，以确定未来监测的基线。因此，在比利巴奎迪尔国家公园 (BBNP) 进行了木本植物物种多样性和组成的区系研究，以制定生态系统基线，以评估最初实施的保护策略。2015 年 5 月至 8 月，在沿 BBNP 的 100 至 500 m 海拔梯度随机分配的 42 个矩形地块 (500 m2) 中进行了彻底的植物区系调查。评估了物种丰富度、多样性、组成和地上生物量。同样地，还提供了一系列关于保护和风险状况的指标信息（例如，IUCN 受威胁物种红色名录、CITES 类别）以及每个相关物种的恢复情况。BBNP是重要的森林，有67种木本植物，分布在30个植物科。就丰度、频率和生物量而言，亚马逊榄仁树和 Corozo 棕榈 Attalea cohune 是保护区中最重要的物种。注意到生物多样性指标、海拔和地上生物量之间的明显趋势。这项研究有助于了解相关的生态主题，并为 BBNP 地区和伯利兹的管理和保护提供关键要素。BBNP是重要的森林，有67种木本植物，分布在30个植物科。就丰度、频率和生物量而言，亚马逊榄仁树和 Corozo 棕榈 Attalea cohune 是保护区中最重要的物种。注意到生物多样性指标、海拔和地上生物量之间的明显趋势。这项研究有助于了解相关的生态主题，并为 BBNP 地区和伯利兹的管理和保护提供关键要素。BBNP是重要的森林，有67种木本植物，分布在30个植物科。就丰度、频率和生物量而言，亚马逊榄仁树和 Corozo 棕榈 Attalea cohune 是保护区中最重要的物种。注意到生物多样性指标、海拔和地上生物量之间的明显趋势。这项研究有助于了解相关的生态主题，并为 BBNP 地区和伯利兹的管理和保护提供关键要素。