Abstract
Abstract The Paulo César Vinha State Park (PEPCV), an important conservation unit in the state of Espírito Santo, has one of the richest angiosperm communities of any restinga area in Brazil, making it a priority area for biodiversity conservation. In this study, we perform an inventory of the PEPCV flora through an exploratory collection over the park area and compilation of data from botanical collections available in virtual herbaria. A total of 634 species were listed, distributed into 367 genera and 111 families of angiosperms, representing 43.75% of the species documented in the restingas of Espírito Santo. The richest families were Fabaceae (54 spp.), Cyperaceae (40 spp.), Orchidaceae (40 spp.), Myrtaceae (36 spp.), and Poaceae (30 spp.). Six species were recorded for the first time in the park, ten are endemic to the Espírito Santo, and about 10% of the species are threatened with extinction. We provide data on the habit, species distribution in phytophysiognomies, and endangered species. Finally, we discussed the importance of broad knowledge about the park’s plants, exposing points to conserve specific areas with high antopic rate, and plans to preserve the biodiversity of this ecosystem.
Highlights
The Atlantic Forest is recognized as a global biodiversity hotspot, with high biological richness and a large number of threatened species (Mittermeier et al 2004)
This study indicates that PEPCV contains the richest restinga in terms of Angiosperms species statewide, with 43.75% of all known angiosperm species in the state’s restinga (Fig. 7)
The PEPCV is followed by the Itaúnas State Park in Conceição da Barra at the extreme northern end of the state, which has 562 species of angiosperms, accounting for 40.1% of the known angiosperm species in the restingas of Espírito Santo (Souza et al 2016)
Summary
The Atlantic Forest is recognized as a global biodiversity hotspot, with high biological richness and a large number of threatened species (Mittermeier et al 2004). The biome is made up of distinct phytoecological regions, distributed along an extensive latitudinal range with extremely heterogeneous geomorphological and climatic characteristics (Azevedo 1962; Veloso et al 1991). Its coastal area has seen varied and extensive economic uses since Brazil’s colonial period (Dean 1995), resulting in a fragmented natural landscape of only 11.73% of its original coverage (Ribeiro et al 2009; Fundação SOS Mata Atlântica & INPE 2019). Restinga vegetation occurs on coastal sandy deposits, which extend along the Brazilian coast (Cerqueira 2000). This vegetation occurs on a quaternary plain (IBGE 2012) and is remarkable for the richness of its plant communities, which grow on nutrient-poor, sandy sediments that are usually of marine origin and rarely fluvial (Pereira 2003)
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