La intensificació agrícola a escala de camp i de paisatge ha comportat la disminució de la riquesa de les comunitats vegetals i canvis en la composició florística. Per tal de revertir aquesta pèrdua de diversitat dels sistemes agrícoles i poder desenvolupar programes de gestió eficients, és important entendre l’efecte de la intensificació a ambdues escales sobre la diversitat vegetal i la manera com interactuen. En aquesta tesi s’ha abordat el paper de la intensificació agrícola a diferents escales espacials (paisatge i camp) sobre la diversitat vegetal dels conreus de cereals de secà de Catalunya en diferents posicions del camp (centre, vora i marge) que difereixen en la intensitat de la pertorbació i en la proximitat als hàbitats adjacents. Amb aquesta finalitat, s’ha mostrejat 29 camps de cereals d’hivern amb gestió ecològica i 29 amb gestió convencional situats en un gradient de complexitat del paisatge. A més, s’ha estudiat experimentalment l’efecte de les pràctiques agrícoles (control de la flora arvense i la fertilització) sobre la diversitat vegetal de les vores dels conreus. L’anàlisi de la diversitat vegetal s’ha realitzat des del punt de vista de l’estructura i la composició de les comunitats vegetals. L’estructura s’ha estimat a partir de la riquesa d’espècies de la vegetació aèria establerta i del banc de llavors del sòl, la biomassa aèria i el nombre de llavors del sòl. La composició s’ha avaluat a partir de les similituds florístiques entre els inventaris i les característiques morfològiques (formes biològiques i de creixement) i funcionals (pol•linització i disseminació pel vent) de les plantes. Els nostres resultats evidencien que la distribució de la vegetació, pel que fa a la riquesa d’espècies, la seva abundància i composició, està fortament influenciada per la posició dins del camp. A més, la complexitat del paisatge també afecta les comunitats vegetals, tot i que la seva influència disminueix a mesura que ens endinsem en el cultiu. També hem constatat que la gestió afecta de forma notòria la diversitat vegetal dels agrosistemes estudiats, però la seva importància es complementària a la del paisatge. Aquests patrons els atribuïm al diferent impacte de las pràctiques agrícoles i del paisatge a cada una de les posicions. La gestió s’intensifica des del marge cap al centre dels cultius, dificultant la viabilitat de moltes espècies, mentre que la importància dels hàbitats adjacents com a font de diàspores disminueix a mesura en endinsar-nos cap a l’interior del camp. Pel que fa a l’efecte de las pràctiques agrícoles sobre las comunitats vegetals dels cultius, hem constatat que els herbicides exerceixen un paper fonamental en el control de la flora arvense i que l’origen de la sembradura es també un determinant principal de la riquesa i abundància d’aquestes comunitats. A més, quan els nivells d’infestació d’arvenses són baixos, ni la grada de pues flexibles ni la fertilització no tenen un efecte significatiu sobre la flora arvense. Finalment ressaltar el paper positiu, tot i que moderat, de les rotacions complexes sobre el banc de llavors, ja que redueixen la densitat de llavors del sòl, i per tant futurs problemes d’infestacions de males herbes, sense afectar la riquesa de espècies. Com a conclusions principals podem destacar la necessitat de minimitzar la intensificació agrícola, tant a escala de camp com de paisatge, per preservar la biodiversitat dels agrosistemes. Tot i així, cal tenir en compte la necessitat de gestionar més adequadament la flora arvense per evitar futures infestacions i els problemes que en deriven. En aquest sentit, cal millorar les tècniques de neteja de llavors quan es reutilitza la pròpia collita i potenciar la rotació de cultius. / Agricultural intensification, at field and landscape scales, has caused a decrease in weed richness and changes in species composition. This study assessed the effects of agricultural intensification at different scales (landscape and field) on plant diversity in Mediterranean dryland cereal fields, to propose management practices that help mitigating the loss of biodiversity in such agroecosystems. To this end, 29 organic and 29 conventional fields distributed along a gradient of landscape complexity were surveyed. We focused on plant assemblages at three contrasted field positions (centre, edge and boundary), analysing species richness, floristic similarities and the relative abundance of various functional attributes (different life forms, growth forms, wind-pollinated species and wind-dispersed species). Seedbank size and species richness at the edges and centres were also assessed. Moreover, we experimentally evaluated the effects of weed control practices and fertilisation on weed flora and on crops at crop edges. Our results show that plant distribution is strongly affected by field position. Moreover, plant communities also respond to landscape complexity and field management, although their importance in different positions changes: landscape effect decreases while entering in the field and management plays a complementary role. These patterns respond to the limited dispersal range of seeds from nearby areas and increasing management intensity from the boundary to the centre of the fields. With regards to the effects of specific management practices on weed flora, our results highlight that the main factor shaping weed communities are herbicides, and that seed origin also strongly affects weed richness and abundance, whereas under low weed levels fertilisation and weed harrowing have little effect on diversity. Moreover, complex rotations are a good tool for seedbank management, because they do not affect species richness while they reduce seed abundance. Our study indicates that if we want to preserve agricultural biodiversity it is equally important to prevent agricultural intensification at landscape and field scale. Besides, more accurate weed management is needed to avoid weed infestations, e.g. improving seed cleaning procedures and performing complex rotations.

Document formatted into pages; contains 46 pages. / Title from PDF of title page. / Thesis (M.S.)--University of South Florida, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references. / Text (Electronic thesis) in PDF format. / ABSTRACT: Herbivore abundances are determined by a set of interacting factors that vary among different habitat types. Specifically, herbivore abundances in monocultures and polycultures may be governed by the same set of factors but with varying influences in the different habitats. In addition, monophagous and polyphagous herbivores may respond differently to the same set of influencing factors. I examined several abiotic and biotic factors in manipulated monocultures and polycultures of Borrichia frutescens in a west central Florida salt marsh. The experimental plots differed in both plant diversity and aboveground habitat structure to see how each component of diversity contributed to variability in the abiotic and biotic factors and how those factors were related to differences in herbivore abundances. The monoculture treatment involved clipping all above ground non-host plant material to achieve a host plant monoculture. The polyculture treatments involved pinning all non-host plant material to achieve a polyculture with reduced above ground habitat structure. The second polyculture treatment was a control in which the naturally diverse plots were unmanipulated. Two monophagous and one polyphagous herbivores were chosen for this study because of their abundance and availability in the field. The two monophagous herbivores on the host plant Borrichia frutescens were Pissonotus quadripustulatus (Homoptera:Delphacidae) and Asphondylia borrichiae (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) both of which have been well studied in the field where the current experiment took place. The polyphagous herbivore was Cyarda acutissima (Homoptera: Flatidae), a poorly known invasive from Cuba. Soil salinity and host plant leaf nitrogen content were the abiotic factors measured. Herbivore abundances, percent egg and gall parasitism by parasitoids, spider abundances on host plant stems and ground spider abundances were the biotic factors measured. Both salinity and host plant leaf nitrogen were significantly different among the different treatments with clipped plots having the highest salinity and leaf nitrogen content. Population densities of both of the monophagous herbivores were not significantly different between treatments. The polyphagous herbivore had significantly higher abundances in the pinned and control plots than in the clipped plots. Stem spider abundances were not significantly different among treatments. Ground spiders, however, were significantly more abundant in control and pinned plots than clipped plots. Parasitism of both monophagous herbivores was not significantly different between treatments but was generally higher in the control plots. The results suggest that for monophagous herbivores bottom-up and top-down factors act antagonistically in monocultures but for the polyphagous herbivore, the presence of multiple host plants is more influential in diverse plots even given the higher abundances of generalist predators. / System requirements: World Wide Web browser and PDF reader. / Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Surveys of plant and selected insect species was conducted in Highveld and Lowveld agro–ecosystems of four provinces of South Africa, namely North–West, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu–Natal and Limpopo. The objectives of the study were to compare insect and plant diversity between localities (grassland and savanna) and treatments (maize field, semi–transformed and untransformed) to test for a general relationship between plant and insect diversity along a maize field–field margin gradient. Plant and insect diversity patterns were studied along the gradient and quantified in terms of richness and diversity indices. Plant and insect species compositional turnover was also measured along the maize field–field margin gradient. Plant diversity increased with increasing distance from maize fields into the margin. The flora in maize fields and of margins differed, but in contrast, insect species assemblages were similar in maize fields and margins. There was no statistical difference in insect diversity between treatments (maize field, semi–transformed and transformed). A relationship was revealed between plant and insect diversity, as plant diversity enhanced insect diversity. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Environmental Sciences))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

Surveys of plant and selected insect species was conducted in Highveld and Lowveld agro–ecosystems of four provinces of South Africa, namely North–West, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu–Natal and Limpopo. The objectives of the study were to compare insect and plant diversity between localities (grassland and savanna) and treatments (maize field, semi–transformed and untransformed) to test for a general relationship between plant and insect diversity along a maize field–field margin gradient. Plant and insect diversity patterns were studied along the gradient and quantified in terms of richness and diversity indices. Plant and insect species compositional turnover was also measured along the maize field–field margin gradient. Plant diversity increased with increasing distance from maize fields into the margin. The flora in maize fields and of margins differed, but in contrast, insect species assemblages were similar in maize fields and margins. There was no statistical difference in insect diversity between treatments (maize field, semi–transformed and transformed). A relationship was revealed between plant and insect diversity, as plant diversity enhanced insect diversity. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Environmental Sciences))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

Orientador: Mario Luiz Teixeira de Moraes / Coorientador: Celso Luiz Marino / Banca: Alexandre Magno Sebbenn / Banca: Leo Zimback / Banca: Bruno Cesar Rossini / Banca: Evandro Vagner Tambarussi / Resumo: Myracrodruon urundeuva (Anacardiaceae) é uma espécie arbórea de ampla distribuição geográfica. Por possuir madeira de reconhecido valor econômico, associada à alta taxa de fragmentação dos seus habitats, encontra-se ameaçada de extinção. Com o intuito de manter a variabilidade genética existente das populações fragmentadas e reduzir perdas na base genética da espécie, sementes de polinização aberta de M. urundeuva foram coletadas em diferentes regiões, no Brasil, para formação do banco de conservação ex situ da Faculdade de Engenharia de Ilha Solteira, em Selvíria-MS. Esse trabalho foi realizado com o objetivo de caracterizar o sistema de reprodução e estimar parâmetros genéticos populacionais em progênies de M. urundeuva, procedentes de diferentes biomas brasileiros, por meio de caracteres quantitativos de crescimento e marcadores moleculares do tipo microssatélites. Os caracteres altura, diâmetro a altura do peito (DAP), diâmetro médio de copa e sobrevivência (SOB) foram utilizados para avaliar cinco populações: Aquidauana-MS, Selvíria-MS, Itarumã-GO, Paulo de Faria-SP e Seridó-RN. Os valores altos a medianos observados para SOB (96,4% - 70,8%) indicam boa adaptação das populações de M. urundeuva e potencial para uso em reflorestamentos. As estimativas do coeficiente de variação genética oscilaram de 3% a 24,6%, em nível de indivíduo, e de 1,5% a 12,3%, entre progênies, com os maiores valores obtidos para o DAP da população de Seridó. As herdabilidades individuais variaram ... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Myracrodruon urundeuva (Anacardiaceae) is a tree species with a wide geographic distribution. Because it has wood of recognized economic value, associated with the high rate of fragmentation of its habitats, it is threatened with extinction. In order to maintain the existing genetic variability of the fragmented populations and reduce losses in the genetic base of the species, M. urundeuva seeds were collected in different regions in Brazil for the formation of the ex situ conservation bank of the Faculty of Engineering of Ilha Solteira (FEIS/UNESP), in Selvíria-MS. This work was conducted with the aims to characterize the mating system and estimate population genetic parameters in M. urundeuva offsprings from different Brazilian biomes, using quantitative growth traits and molecular markers of the microsatellite type. The height, diameter at breast height (DBH), mean crown diameter and survival were used to evaluate five populations: Aquidauana-MS, Selvíria-MS, Itarumã-GO, Paulo de Faria -SP and Seridó-RN. The values high to median observed for survival (96.4% - 70.8%) indicate good adaptation of populations of M. urundeuva and potential for use in reforestation. Estimates of the coefficient of genetic variation ranged from 3% to 24.6%, at the individual level, and from 1.5% to 12.3%, among progenies, with the highest values obtained for the DBH of the Seridó population. The individual heritabilities ranged from moderate (0.41) to low (0.01) for the characters. Using the gen... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Doutor

Dans les agroécosystèmes, la biodiversité fonctionnelle et la biodiversité associée fournissent de nombreux services à l'homme dont la pollinisation, la régulation biologique et le cycle des nutriments. L'association des cultures est une pratique agricole qui augmente la diversité des plantes dans les agroécosystèmes, fournit des ressources alimentaires alternatives et structure les communautés des arthropodes. Elle favorise les prédateurs généralistes pour la régulation biologique des ravageurs. Cette étude vise à comprendre comment la diversité des plantes, à l'échelle de la parcelle, structure les réseaux trophiques des arthropodes et peut participer à améliorer la régulation biologique des ravageurs. Tout d'abord, une méta-analyse a été réalisée afin de rechercher la relation générale liant la diversité végétale considérée à l'échelle locale et le contrôle des insectes ravageurs par les prédateurs généralistes. Ensuite, sur un réseau de 20 parcelles paysannes de la région de Njombé au Cameroun, nous avons étudié l'effet de la diversité des plantes cultivées sur la structure du réseau trophique des arthropodes. Les résultats ont montré que l'abondance des prédateurs était positivement corrélée avec la diversité des plantes alors que celle des herbivores était négativement corrélée avec la diversité des plantes. L'effet inverse de la diversité des plantes sur les abondances des prédateurs et des herbivores suggère que des effets top-down structurent la communauté des arthropodes dans les parcelles de plantain. Enfin, l'effet de trois cultures couramment associées au plantain (maïs Zea mays, macabo Xanthosoma sagittifolium, et pistache Lagenaria siceraria) sur i) la structure de la communauté des fourmis et ii) les dégâts de Cosmopolites sordidus ont été étudiés dans un essai réalisé en station expérimentale. Les trois cultures associées ont eu un effet significatif sur l'abondance de tous les taxa de fourmis collectés mais le sens et la magnitude de cet effet ont varié selon les taxa. Cela montre le levier que constituent les cultures associées pour structurer la communauté des prédateurs généralistes de l'agroécosystème. Les abondances de tous les taxa de fourmis étaient également corrélées avec les dégâts de C. sordidus. Les abondances de Camponotus spp., Monomorium spp., Paratrechina longicornis et Tetramorium sp. étaient négativement corrélées avec les dégâts de C. sordidus montrant leur potentiel de régulation de ce ravageur. Cette étude à l'échelle de la communauté de l'agroécosystème suggère qu'il est nécessaire de prendre en compte les effets de la diversité végétale à tous les niveaux trophiques pour espérer maximiser le service de régulation des ravageurs.Mots clés : Diversité des plantes, cultures associées, réseaux trophiques, arthropodes, fourmis, structure de la communauté / Functional diversity and associated biodiversity in agroecosystems provide and promote important services to human society such as pollination, biological control, and nutrient cycling. Intercropping is a practical way to increase plant diversity in agroecosystems and participates to provide alternative foods and to structure arthropod communities, including generalist predators involved in pest control. To better understand how plant diversity structures the arthropod food web and how the control of pest may be optimized, we first made one meta-analysis to understand the mechanisms linking plant diversity to pest control by generalist predators at local scale. We second studied the effect of plant diversity on the arthropod community in contrasted plantain fields. We showed that predator abundance was positively correlated with plant diversity while herbivore abundance was negatively correlated with plant diversity. This strong and inverse effect of plant diversity on herbivore and predator abundance suggests that top-down forces structure the arthropod community in plantain fields and that it should be possible to structure the predator community to better control herbivores including pests. In a third step, we measured the effect of combinations of three associated crops maize Zea mays, cocoyam Xanthosoma sagittifolium and gourd Lagenaria siceraria as intercrops on ant community structure and then the effect relation between ant abundances with Cosmopolites sordidus damages. The three associated plants had a significant effect on abundance of all ant species but in different magnitudes and with either negative or positive effect showing that the selection of plant species that are intercropped is an efficient way to structure the ant community. The abundances of all species of ants were positively or negatively correlated with the damages of C. sordidus larvae. The abundances of Camponotus spp., Monomorium spp., Paratrechina longicornis and Tetramorium sp. were negatively correlated to C. sordidus damage. These ants appear to be the best candidates for C. sordidus control. These findings will help in the design of plantain agroecosystems that enhance pest control services.Keywords: Plant diversity, intercropping, arthropod food webs, ants, interspecific interactions, habitat structure

Background: Tropical sand dunes are ideal systems for understanding drivers of community assembly as dunes are subject to both deterministic and stochastic processes. However, studies that evaluate the factors that mediate plant community assembly in these ecosystems are few. Aims: We evaluated phylogenetic community structure to elucidate the role of deterministic and stochastic processes in mediating the assembly of plant communities along the north of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Methods: We used plastid genetic markers to evaluate phylogenetic relationships in 16 sand-dune communities. To evaluate the role of climate in shaping plant community structure we carried out linear regressions between climatic variables and mean phylogenetic distance. We estimated the Net Relatedness Index and Nearest Taxon Index to identify ecological processes mediating community assembly. Results: Observed phylogenetic structure was not different from random, suggesting that stochastic processes are the major determinants of community assembly. Climate was slightly correlated with phylogenetic diversity suggesting that abiotic environment plays a minimal role in community assembly. Conclusions: Random assembly appears to be the primary factor structuring the studied sand dune plant communities. Environmental filters may represent a secondary factor contributing to the observed phylogenetic structure. Thus, both processes may act simultaneously to mediate the assembly of sand-dune plant communities.

Text in Afrikaans, abstract in Afrikaans and English / Lineere plantegroeipatrone bestaande uit afwisselende grasryke mikrotrog- en boomryke- kruinbane wat parallel met die helling georienteer is, kom voor op die voetbang van die Baviaansberg, in die Warmbadgebied, Noordelike Provinsie. Die hoofdoelwitte van die studie was om uit 'n landskapekologiese benadering die verskynsel te probeer verklaar, om die vertikale en horisontale variasie van eienskappe te kwantifiseer en om die impak van die mens daarop te benadruk. Die differensiasie in die Tukulu- en Etoshagrondvorms in onderskeidelik mikrotroe en -kruine is die gevolg van grondprosesse soos illuviasie van klei, loging en ferrolise.Granulometriese analise dui daarop dat die moedermateriaal van gronde van een bron afkomstig is. Kolluviasie en afsetting van moedermateriaal op die voethang was waarskynlik die beginpunt van landskapontwikkeling waar verdeelde oppervlakvloei van water oenskynlik die mikrostrukture geinisieer het. Na aanleiding hiervan het die ontwikkeling van grondverskille en waterregimeverskille tot plantegroeiverskille gelei. Faktore wat die patroon geaksentueer het is termietaktiwiteite, brand en beweiding. / A linear vegetation pattern consists of alternating grassland micro troughs and woody micro crests lanes which were orientated parallel to the slope occurred on the foot slope of the Baviaansberg, in the Warmbaths area, Northern Province. From a landscape ecological approach the principal aims of the study was to explain the phenomenon, to quantify the vertical and horizontal variation of features and to accent the impact of man on it. The differentiation in Tukulu and Etosha forms in micro troughs and micro crests respectively were the effect of several soil processes. Granulometric analyses showed that the parent material of soil was derived from one source. Colluviation and deposit of parent material was probably the starting-point of landscape development where the divided surface flow of water apparently initiated the micro structures. As a result of this the development of soil and water regime differences lead to vegetation differences. / Geography / M. Sc. (Geografie)

In the face of biodiversity loss due to agricultural expansion and intensification, agroforestry has been proposed as an environmentally friendly form of agriculture capable of conserving biodiversity while supporting local livelihoods. However, how social drivers related to farmers’ decision-making and ecological processes affect the potential of agroforestry systems to serve as reservoirs for native species diversity and community composition is unclear. This dissertation aims to describe patterns of tree diversity and community composition in coffee (Coffea arabica) agroforestry systems as they compare to surrounding forests, and uncover the social drivers related to farmers’ decision-making and ecological processes giving rise to those patterns. Worldwide, there is an extensive overlap between coffee-growing areas and regions with high species richness and endemism considered biodiversity hotspots. This renders the issue of clarifying the sustainability and conservation value of shade coffee even more urgent. Otherwise, we risk losing important late-succession and conservation concern tree species, and simplifying the structural and floristic composition of mature forests. To uncover how the social factors related to farmers’ decision-making and ecological factors drive tree diversity and community composition in coffee agroforestry systems, a series of empirical studies were conducted based on surveys and field data collected in La Sepultura Biosphere Reserve in Chiapas, Mexico, between 2009-2013. Field research took place in two coffee farming communities within the reserve, where 50 farmers were interviewed, and 31 coffee agroforest sites and 10 forest sites were sampled. Forests were sampled to provide a reference for tree diversity and community composition in the absence of coffee management. Although a higher sample size would have permitted the inclusion of more covariates in statistical analyses without losing statistical power, there is no reason to believe that the results of this dissertation would change if a larger sample size were considered. This is because the magnitude of the effects detected were large and the p-values small, which underscore the robustness of the results of this dissertation. The three chapters in this dissertation correspond to individual studies. Chapter One investigates tree floristic patterns in coffee agroforestry systems and compares them to those in surrounding forests. Findings indicate that although at the landscape level coffee agroforestry systems hold similar tree species richness compared to forests, tree species community composition is significantly distinct. Coffee agroforests had a lower proportion of trees of conservation concern, a higher proportion of pioneer trees, were dominated by Inga spp., harbored lower tree species diversity at the plot level, and were composed of different tree species compared to native forests. This chapter raised questions with regards to whether these results were the result of farmers’ intentional tree selection criteria and preferences, or an unintended consequence of management practices. Chapter Two addressed these questions by examining the use of knowledge by farmers to manage coffee agroforests and the consequences on tree community composition relative to forests. In Chapter Two, results indicate that differences between agroforests and forests are primarily driven by farmers’ manipulation of tree community composition, which occurs according to their beliefs about the benefits and disservices of trees for coffee production. Tree community composition in coffee agroforest is dominated by the trees that farmers prefer and practically void of the trees they dislike as compared to the trees’ natural abundances in forests. These findings are novel and important because they clarify that the community composition changes observed in coffee agroforests are mostly an intentional consequence of management and not a byproduct. Finally, Chapter Three focuses on a subset of trees of particular conservation importance, trees of conservation concern (CC) and typical of old growth or late succession (LS) forests. This chapter investigates how management practices that affect shade tree density, basal area, and the proportion of Inga trees, mediated by land use legacies, affect the proportions of CC and LS trees in coffee agroforests. Findings indicate that management practices that sought to increase the proportion of Inga spp. trees had the largest negative impact on the proportions of trees of LS and CC, but the magnitude of the effects were dependent on land-use legacy. Among farms established on land previously used for pastureland or crop cultivation, the impact of farmers’ tree preferences and selection criteria on LS and CC trees were significantly higher than on farms established on forests without an agricultural history. These findings underscore that farmers’ sharp preference for Inga spp. trees undermines the potential of agroforests to conserve higher proportions of CC and LS trees. The results presented in each chapter of this dissertation allow for a more thorough understanding of the tree diversity patterns conserved in coffee agroforestry systems and the underlying social drivers related to farmers’ decision-making and ecological drivers that generate such patterns. The results of this dissertation seek to contribute new knowledge not only to the scientific community, but also to society so that better policies and strategies be devised that successfully conserve floristic diversity in the biodiverse areas of the world where coffee is cultivated.

Neste estudo analisamos a diversidade e endemismos da flora lenhosa das florestas estacionais decíduas (FEDs) do norte e centro do Perú. Caracterizamos a diversidade das plantas lenhosas ao longo dos vales, para definir os valores de conservação da área a nível nacional. Os resultados indicam que as FEDs do vale do Marañón apresentam valores significativamente altos em endemias em relação às outras FEDs do Perú e FEDs vizinhas e o padrão de endemismos e estrutura populacional das espécies variam no gradiente geográfico e altitudinal. Em constraste, as FEDs do vale do rio Tambo, centro do Perú, são moderadamente ricas em espécies do que a média das FEDs neotropicais e apresentam escassos endemismos. Esta região necessita de mais esforços de pesquisas para conhecer mais profundamente os elementos da biodiversidade. Neste estudo, também realizamos a caracterização dendro-anatômica do lenho das árvores de 87 espécies, sendo o primeiro registro da anatomia da madeira das árvores dos dois vales. Das análises do lenho das 183 espécies registradas nas florestas do norte e centro do Perú, só 157 apresentam anéis de crescimento e precisam ser analisadas em detalhe com outras pesquisas de desenvolvimento cambial e técnicas tradicionais de análises dendrocronológicas. A derivação desta informação pode alcançar alto impacto em estudos de variabilidade climática e aplicações na conservação. Assim mesmo, a análise preliminar dendrocronológica das taxas de crescimento do tronco revelam que as árvores de Cedrela kuelapensis apresentam as taxas de crescimento mais altas e ressaltam como um excelente recurso para programas de reflorestamento nos vales interandinos, além, das populações endêmicas de Cordia iguaguana e Esenbeckia cornuta são principalmente de exemplares jovens. Esperamos que as informações dos cinco capítulos constituam-se uma eficiente e importante ferramenta para melhorar a gestão dos recursos florestais dos vales estudados. / In this study we analyzed the diversity and endemism of the woody flora of Seazonally dry tropical forests (SDTF) in northern and central Peru. We characterized the diversity of woody plants along the valleys to define the conservation values of the area at the national and international levels. The results indicate that the SDTF s of the Marañón Valley show surprisingly high values in endemics in relation to other SDTF s in Peru and neighboring SDTFs, and the pattern of endemism and population structure of the species varies in geographic and altitudinal grades. In contrast, the SDTFs of the Tambo River Valley, central Peru, are moderately rich in species that average the neotropical SDTFs and have scarce endemism. This region needs more efforts to get to know the elements of biodiversity more deeply. In this study, we also performed the dendroanatomic characterization of 87 species and is the first report of the anatomy of the wood for the two valleys. From the analysis of the wood of the 183 species recorded in the forests of northern and central Peru, only 157 have growth rings and need to be analyzed in detail with other studies of exchange rate development and traditional techniques of dendrochronological analysis. The derivation of this information can reach high impact in studies of climatic variability and conservation applications. Likewise, the preliminary dendrochronological analysis of growth rates reveals that Cedrela kuelapensis showed the highest growth rates and stands out as an excellent resource for reforestation programs in the inter-Andean valleys, in addition, Cordia iguaguana and Esenbeckia cornuta endemic populations are mainly from young individuals. We hope that the information in the five chapters constitutes in efficient and important tool to improve the management of forest resources in the valleys studied.