Open-pit mining is a common activity in the Yucatan Peninsula for the extraction of limestone. These areas are characterized by the total removal of the natural vegetation cover and soil in order to access calcareous material. The present study shows the composition and structure of the vegetation in five quarries after approximately ten years of abandonment, and the target vegetation near to the quarries in southeastern Mexico. A linear mixed model showed that P availability is one of the limiting factors for species establishment in the quarries. Using a canonical correspondence analysis (CCA), the distribution of the species was determined in relation to the edaphic variables: soil depth, the percentage of organic matter (OM), cationic exchange capacity (CEC), pH and texture. Twenty-six families, 46 genera and 50 species were recorded in the quarries, and 25 families, 45 genera and 47 species were recorded in the conserved areas. The dominant species in the quarries belong to the families Poaceae, Fabaceae, Rubiaceae and Anacardiaceae. The quarries with higher values of OM (2%), CEC (24 Cmol/kg), depth (11 cm) and sand percentage (31%) include the following species Lysiloma latisiliquum (L.) Benth., Metopium brownei (Jacq.) Urb. and Bursera simaruba (L.) Sarg., which are common in secondary forests. Quarries with lower values of OM (0.4%), CEC (17 Cmol/kg) and depth (5.02), and with a higher percentage of silt (42%) were dominated by herbs belonging to Poaceae and by Borreria verticillate (L.) G. Mey., which are typical in disturbed areas of southeastern Mexico. In all cases, the pH was slightly alkaline due to the content of calcium carbonate (CaCO₃), characteristic of the soils of the region.

Background: Cacao is an umbrophile species and therefore the handling of shade by producers can cause a microclimatic modification that influences the physiology of the plant. Questions: Can canopy management influence the microclimate of the crop area and the water content of cacao? Species of study: Theobroma cacao L. (Malvaceae). Study site: Comalcalco, Tabasco, Mexico; dry and rainy season 2018. Methods: Three sites were selected with an open canopy (OC) and three with a closed canopy (CC), where we determined air temperature and humidity, soil temperature, vapor pressure deficit, photosynthetically active radiation, soil water potential and leaf water potential in 15 cacao trees and the sap flow density in 12 trees, by canopy condition and by season. Results: Higher values of solar radiation, air and soil temperature, vapor pressure deficit and lower relative humidity were recorded under OC compared to CC, in both seasons. Differences in soil water potential between 10 and 60 cm depth in CC were recorded during the dry season. There was a lower sap flow density and daily water use in OC. The leaf water potential was similar between canopy conditions, in both seasons. Conclusions: Changes in canopy coverage significantly modify the microclimate of the crop area, a less stressful environment being generated under closed canopy conditions, influencing the sap flow density of cacao trees.

We evaluated the effect of ENSO 2015/16 on the water relations of eight tree species in seasonally dry tropical forests of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. The functional traits: wood density, relative water content in wood, xylem water potential and specific leaf area were recorded during the rainy season and compared in three consecutive years: 2015 (pre-ENSO conditions), 2016 (ENSO conditions) and 2017 (post-ENSO conditions). We analyzed tree size on the capacity to respond to water deficit, considering young and mature trees, and if this response is distinctive in species with different leaf patterns in seasonally dry tropical forests distributed along a precipitation gradient (700–1200 mm year⁻¹). These traits showed a strong decrease in all species in response to water stress in 2016, mainly in the driest site. Deciduous species had lower wood density, higher predawn water potential and higher specific leaf area than evergreen species. In all cases, mature trees were more tolerant to drought. In the driest site, there was a significant reduction in water status, regardless of their leaf phenology, indicating that seasonally dry tropical forests are highly vulnerable to ENSO. Vulnerability of deciduous species is intensified in the driest areas and in the youngest trees.