Floristic diversity in a rural landscape of the lower slope in 'Farallones of Cali', Colombia

This study aimed to evaluate composition, structure and plant diversity of forest, scrub and grassland in a rural landscape of the piedmont of the “Farallones of Cali” in 2013. We sampled three replicates of forest and scrub which consisted of a total of 24 plots of 200 m2 to register trees, and 24 subplots of 50 m2 to register shrubs and seedlings. In grassland, 36 quadrants of 1 m2 were sampled. In total, 140 species were recorded (69 in forest, 60 in scrub and 53 in grassland). Families with the highest importance value were Melastomataceae, Myrtaceae and Lacistemataceae in forest, Melastomataceae in scrub and Poaceae and Asteraceae in grassland. In conclusion, the plant community is in early successional stages, dominated by intermediate pioneer species and rich in seedlings plants.