Floristics and biogeography of the mosses of the state of Queretaro, Mexico

Abstract

The state of Queretaro, Mexico is at the confluence of three physiographic provinces: Transmexican Volcanic Belt, Mexican Plateau and Sierra Madre Oriental. A list of its mosses has been compiled from field work and specimens at MEXU. A total of 212 species were recorded for the state, including Schistidium agassizii new for the country. The Sierra Madre Oriental province is the richest in terms of number of species, with about 82% of the total moss diversity. A parsimony analysis of endemism (PAE) roughly identified three distinct regions in the state: the conifer-cloud-temperate forests in the northeast (Sierra Madre Oriental), the more xeric parts in the center and southeast (Mexican Plateau and ecotone areas of the Transmexican Volcanic Belt), and the almost temperate areas in the south (Transmexican Volcanic Belt). Moss diversity and distribution in the state is associated with the environmental diversity and the complex geological history of the region, but human activities may have modified the distributional patterns.