THE WOODY FLORA OF THE DRIZZLE (GARUA) FOREST OF THE CHONGON COLONCHE CORDILLERA, SANTA ELENA - ECUADOR

The Chongon Colonche Mountain Range is located within the Tumbes-Choco-Magdalena region, known for its high diversity and endemism, which faces deforestation and presents biological information gaps as conservation problems. The composition, structure and diversity of the woody flora were determined in two localities, Loma Alta and Dos Mangas, through plots of 0.1 ha located at 500 masl. Forty-eight species, forty-six genera and twenty-eight families were identified, where the most representative were Arecaceae and Urticaceae. The structure was made up of six diametric and seven altimetric classes. Endemism and conservation status congregate in 19 spp. (40%), of which Inga carinata "Guaba", Gustavia serrata "Membrillo", Sorocea sarcocarpa "Tillo" and Randia carlosiana "Canafito" are the most important in both categories. The alpha diversity of the garua forests oscillated in medium ranges, where Loma Alta presented higher average diversity (2.40 nats/ind) and lower average dominance (0.13). The turnover rate (1.29) was higher in Loma Alta and the nMDS-ANOSIM-SIMPER ordering analysis established significant differences (R = 0.80, p < 0.01) defining two dissimilar floristic groups (54%). The vegetal diversity of the garua forests is composed of characteristic families of the western humid forests and they differ from the characteristic vegetation of the Seasonally Dry Forests of the Equatorial Pacific region; however, both floristic regions converge in this cordillera. Therefore, forest conservation and effective management in these protected areas is imperative. These results contribute to the local and regional knowledge of the humid and dry forests of the Ecuadorian coast.