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Article has an altmetric score of 7

Grant support

O.J., H.C. and F.B. thank the Research Directorate of the University of Cuenca (DIUC) for the economic financing under the research project called "Relaciones inter-especificas entre hospederos, orquideas epifitas y microorganismos fitoestimulantes asociados a sus raices, en bosques nativos andinos de la provincia del Azuay". This research project was developed under the research permit No. No. 120-2016-DPAA/MAE, granted by the Ministry of the Environment of Ecuador. O.C. thank the UTPL for their support in the culmination of the manuscript. We are grateful to Luis Cayuela for his insightful comments on a previous version of the manuscript. The authors thank Diana Szekely and Gregory Gedeon for their help in the language revision. Finally, we thank the anonymous reviewers who rightly helped improve this manuscript.

Analysis of institutional authors

Cedillo, HugoAuthor

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Article

Floristic Groups, and Changes in Diversity and Structure of Trees, in Tropical Montane Forests in the Southern Andes of Ecuador

Publicated to:Diversity. 13 (9): 400- - 2021-09-01 13(9), DOI: 10.3390/d13090400

Authors: Jadan, Oswaldo; Donoso, David A; Cedillo, Hugo; Bermudez, Fernando; Cabrera, Omar

Affiliations

Escuela Politec Nacl, Dept Biol, E-11253 Quito, Ecuador - Author
Univ Cuenca, Fac Ciencias Agr, 12 Octubre & Diego Tapia, Cuenca 010114, Ecuador - Author
Univ Rey Juan Carlos, Dept Biol Geol Fis & Quim Inorgan, Calle Tulipan S-N, ES-28933 Madrid, Spain - Author
Univ Tecn Particular Loja, Dept Ciencias Biol, San Cayetano Alto S-N, Loja 1101608, Ecuador - Author
Univ Tecnol Indoamer, Ctr Invest Biodiversidad & Cambio Climat, EC-170103 Quito, Ecuador - Author
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Abstract

Composition, diversity, and structure of trees in tropical montane forests are responsive to ecological gradients and local succession. Those parameters are a result of ecological interactions between vegetation, environment, and location. This study identified floristic groups on mainly secondary forests and evaluated how the composition, diversity, and structure of trees correlate with climate, soil, and age since abandonment. We included in our models a measurement of spatial correlation, to explore the role of dispersion. For this purpose, we measured diameter and height of all trees with DBH >= 10 cm, in twenty-eight 500 m(2) plots, in an elevation range between 2900 and 3500 m. We found 14 indicator species in three floristic groups. Group composition was explained by age since abandonment, which showed strong succession effects. Mean monthly precipitation and Manganese, but not spatial correlation, explained plant composition in these montane forests, suggesting a minor role of dispersion. Species richness and structure of the arboreal vegetation were influenced by interactions between age, precipitation, and soil nutrients concentration. We concluded that in fragmented landscapes, within the rugged region of southern Ecuador, it is possible to find different floristic groups that encompass high variation in their composition.

Keywords

Altitudinal gradientAndesAzuayDeforestationDisturbancIndicatorIndicator speciesLand-cover changePatternsPlantationsRain-forestSecondary successioSecondary successionSpecies compositionVegetation

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Diversity due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency Scopus (SJR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2021, it was in position , thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Agricultural and Biological Sciences (Miscellaneous).

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from World Citations from Scopus Elsevier, it yields a value for the Field-Weighted Citation Impact from the Scopus agency: 1.25, which indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: ESI Nov 14, 2024)

This information is reinforced by other indicators of the same type, which, although dynamic over time and dependent on the set of average global citations at the time of their calculation, consistently position the work at some point among the top 50% most cited in its field:

  • Field Citation Ratio (FCR) from Dimensions: 1.53 (source consulted: Dimensions Jun 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2025-06-10, the following number of citations:

  • WoS: 7
  • Scopus: 9
  • OpenCitations: 4

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-06-10:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 30.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 30 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 6.7.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 6 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.

Leadership analysis of institutional authors

This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: Ecuador.