Title: Cuban plants of ultramafic soils and climatic changes

Abstract

Climate changes directly affect the exchange with the environment, modifying the adaptation capacity of individuals, populations and communities. Ultramafic communities are highly specialized ecosystems to the substrate that sustains them. The Cuban ultramafic flora represents approximately 57% the vascular flora with a high degree of endemism. Ultramafic outcrops are distributed throughout Cuba in a north-central band representing 7% of the island’s surface, they occur across a range of climatic conditions, and its vegetation is influenced by topography and precipitations. The Cuban ultramafic plants shows a high grade of xeromorphic traits (microphylly, sclerophylly, and spinescence).mainly due of soils which has an effect of equivalent to a reduction of at least 500 mm of annual precipitation, thus the Cuban ultramafic vegetation is characterized by woody xerophytic shrubs, palms, and trees. Fire, grazing and other anthropogenic disturbances convert thorny xeromorphic scrubs into savannas with palms and a dense herbaceous cover; following disturbances, the secondary vegetation is floristically more deficient and physiognomically different from the vegetation that gave rise. The ultramaphic outcrops are “islands within islands” along the main island and this is why they are vulnerable. How the next climate changes could change the floristic composition and structure of the ultramaphic communities in Cuba is the goal of this work.