Structure and floristic composition of a tropical rain forest of the National Park Bari Catatumbo, Colombia

The floristic composition and structure of a tropical wet forest in the Natural National Park Catatumbo Bari were characterized. This natural park is located in the Cordillera Oriental of Colombia, Norte de Santander, at 700 m altitude. All individuals with dbh ? 1 cm found in a 0.1 ha plot were sampled. We have found 636 individuals and 109 species with dbh? 1cm, and 432 individuals and 90 species with dbh ? 2.5 cm. The families with the highest number of species were Lauraceae (13), Rubiaceae (10), Melastomataceae (9), and Arecaceae (6). The genera with the higher number of species were Ocotea and Miconia (7), Psychotria (5), and Eschweilera, Inga and Piper (4). The majority of individuals and species corresponded to lowest height range and diametric class. The total basal area was 5.65 m . The most ecologically important species (highest IVI) were, in order, Trattinnickia cf. burserifolia, Calathea inocephala, Brownea ariza, Oenocarpus minor and Euterpe predatoria, and the families were Arecaceae, Rubiaceae, Burseraceae, Lauraceae and Moraceae. This is a relatively heterogeneous forest with low species richness, as a result of its past degradation.