Ecological considerations on a population of Lycium athium (Solanaceae) and extention of its distribution area.

Abstract

Ecological considerations on a population of Lycium athium (Solanaceae) and extention of its distribution area. L. athium has been described as endemic to Formosa province with very few specimens cited to date. Cited for the first time a native population for Santiago del Estero Argentina province, extending its range and suggests that it could be extended to Paraguay. New collections are necessary to know its status in the wild. It also contributions on the characteristics of the population and its habitat are made. The population was found in the interfluve Dulce-Salado Rivers, both shrub vegetation and forest. A comparative study was performed between both sites. Population density, average height of individuals, absolute and relative abundance, cover, and spatial distribution pattern were taken into account. Salinity, acidity / alkalinity of the soil and diversity of woody and succulent species were determined. L. athium was found in soils with high salinity both sites halophytic shrub and open areas within the forest, although it was best represented in the scrub. It presented a spatial distribution pattern added in shrubland and random in forest. In both cases it was presented as a dominant species in the low shrub strata. The composition and diversity of species at both sites was expected for the type of environment within the region. In both cases it was presented as a dominant species in the low shrub strata. The composition and species diversity at both sites was expected for the type of environment in the region.