Floristic Composition, Structure, and Diversity of a Forest Remnant in the Ecuadorian Chocó: The Case of 'La Montaña'

Floristic composition is a key indicator of a region’s biodiversity, as it helps identify the species present, their interactions, and the spatial distribution of plant communities. The objective of this study was to assess the floristic composition, structure, and diversity of vegetation units at the “La Montaña” enclave, circumscribed at the Estación Experimental Tropical Pichilingue, Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (INIAP), Los Ríos Province, Ecuador. The 210 ha area was split into 31 parcels (400 m ² each), where the presence of plants and the diameter and height of trees were analysed. The importance value index (IVI) was calculated on the basis of abundance, dominance, and relative frequency. The plant units were grouped according to floristic and structural similarities. The floristic inventory included a total of 23 botanical families, 55 species and 366 individuals. The families with the most representatives were Moraceae, Malvaceae, Fabaceae, Mimosaceae, and Areaceae. During the study, three vegetation units were identified: forest, swamp, and flood zones. In the forest zone, Anacardium excelsum was the dominant species, whereas in the swamp and flood zones, Erythrina glauca and Cecropia pertata , were the dominant species. The forest zone had the highest diversity of species (H _SD = 0.9103, H’= 3.114 and D _mg = 8.087), followed by the flood zone (H _SD = 0.8724, H’= 2.512 and D _mg = 4.348) and the swamp zone (H _SD = 0.6923, H’= 1.335 and D _mg = 1.228). The floristic inventory provides information about plant biodiversity, which helps in understanding plant structure and arboreal composition.