Vegetation Classification and Survey 1: 87–102 doi: 10.3897/VCS/2020/38013 International Association for Vegetation Science (IAVS) RESEARCH PAPER The lowland seasonally dry subtropical forests in central Argentina: vegetation types and a call for conservation Sebastián R. Zeballos1, Melisa A. Giorgis1,2, Marcelo R. Cabido1, Alicia T. R. Acosta3, María del Rosario Iglesias1, Juan J. Cantero1,4 1 Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (UNC-CONICET), Córdoba, Argentina 2 Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina 3 Dipartimento di Scienze, Università degli Studi di Roma Tre, Roma, Italy 4 Departamento de Biología Agrícola, Facultad de Agronomía y Veterinaria, UNRC, Córdoba, Argentina Corresponding author: Melisa A. Giorgis (
[email protected]) Academic editor: Idoia Biurrun ♦ Received 5 July 2019 ♦ Accepted 10 February 2020 ♦ Published 4 May 2020 Abstract Aims: The native woody vegetation from the Espinal phytogeographic province in central Argentina, found in subtropi- cal-warm temperate climates, represents part of the southernmost seasonally dry forest in South America. Although this vegetation has been studied for over a century, a complete phytosociological survey is still needed. This lack of knowl- edge makes its spatial delimitation and the establishment of efficient conservation strategies particularly difficult. The main goals of this study were to classify these forests and assess their current forest cover and to better define the extent of the Espinal phytogeographic province in Córdoba region, central Argentina. Study area: Espinal Phytogeographic Province in Córdoba region, central Argentina (ca. 101,500 km2). Methods: We sampled 122 stands following the prin- ciples of the Zürich-Montpellier School of phytosociology; relevés were classified through the ISOPAM hierarchical analysis.