Uniola paniculata (Poaceae, Chloridoideae, Unioliinae), nuevo registro para la flora de la Península de Yucatán, México

Resumen: Antecedentes y Objetivos: La avena de mar, Uniola paniculata, se distribuye en el Caribe, los Estados Unidos de América y México. El objetivo de este trabajo es reportar su presencia y registro en el estado de Campeche, México. Métodos: Se colectaron ejemplares de la familia Poaceae creciendo en una duna frontal al suroeste del estado de Campeche, específicamente en la Isla del Carmen. Las colectas fueron procesadas y herborizadas, para su conservación e identificación.Resultado clave: Con la identificación de ejemplares, y después de hacer una revisión de su distribución, se registra por primera vez la presencia de Uniola paniculata (Poaceae) en la Península de Yucatán, representando una contribución al conocimiento florístico de la región y a la flora de México.Conclusiones: Esta especie solo había sido reportada para la costa del Golfo de México, en los estados de Tamaulipas, Veracruz y Tabasco. Este registro adquiere relevancia por el papel ecológico de este pasto en las dunas costeras.Palabras clave: avena de mar, conocimiento florístico, dunas costeras, flora de Campeche.Abstract: Background and Aims: The oat sea grass, Uniola paniculata, is distributed in the Caribbean, the United States of America and Mexico. The aim of this work is to report its occurrence and record in the state of Campeche, Mexico.Methods: Individuals of the family Poaceae were collected growing in a coastal dune in the southwest of the state of Campeche, particularly on the Isla del Carmen. The collections were processed and herborized for their conservation and classification.Key results: With the individuals’ identification and after reviewing its distribution, this is the first report of the presence of Uniola paniculata (Poaceae) on the Yucatan Peninsula, representing a contribution to the floristic knowledge of the region and the flora of Mexico.Conclusions: This species had only been reported from the coast of the Gulf of Mexico in the states of Tamaulipas, Veracruz and Tabasco. This record is relevant because of the ecological role of this oat sea grass in the coastal dunes.Key words: Campeche flora, coast dunes, floristic knowledge, sea oat.

Species-Specific Functional Morphology of Four US Atlantic Coast Dune Grasses: Biogeographic Implications for Dune Shape and Coastal Protection

Coastal dunes arise from feedbacks between vegetation and sediment supply. Species-specific differences in plant functional morphology affect sand capture and dune shape. In this study, we build on research showing a relationship between dune grass species and dune geomorphology on the US central Atlantic Coast. This study seeks to determine the ways in which four co-occurring dune grass species (Ammophila breviligulata, Panicum amarum, Spartina patens, Uniola paniculata) differ in their functional morphology and sand accretion. We surveyed the biogeography, functional morphology, and associated change in sand elevation of the four dune grass species along a 320-kilometer distance across the Outer Banks. We found that A. breviligulata had dense and clumped shoots, which correlated with the greatest sand accretion. Coupled with fast lateral spread, it tends to build tall and wide foredunes. Uniola paniculata had fewer but taller shoots and was associated with ~42% lower sand accretion. Coupled with slow lateral spread, it tends to build steeper and narrower dunes. Panicum amarum had similar shoot densities and associated sand accretion to U. paniculata despite its shorter shoots, suggesting that shoot density is more important than morphology. Finally, we hypothesize, given the distributions of the grass species, that foredunes may be taller and wider and have better coastal protection properties in the north where A. breviligulata is dominant. If under a warming climate A. breviligulata experiences a range shift to the north, as appears to be occurring with U. paniculata, changes in grass dominance and foredune morphology could make for more vulnerable coastlines.

Sea Oats, Uniola paniculata

Sea oats occur throughout Florida on beach dunes and beaches and on coastal areas west to Texas and north to Maryland. Sea oats are vital dune builders that accumulate sand and prevent erosion due to wind, waves, and large storms. As sand is trapped by the long leaves of sea oats, vertical growth is stimulated, and rooting occurs at the buried nodes. This plant is extremely drought- and salt-tolerant, grows up to the high tide line of beaches, and propagates both vegetatively and by seed in the wild (Shadow 2007).https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/sg186 This publication is derived from information in SGEB-75/SG156, Dune Restoration and Enhancement for the Florida Panhandle, by Debbie Miller, Mack Thetford, Christina Verlinde, Gabriel Campbell, and Ashlynn Smith. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/sg156.