Composition and Distribution of Woody and Palm Vegetation in the Pantanal Wetland

Abstract

Plant species are valuable indicators of habitat conditions under seasonal and decadal climatic fluctuations. Here we compile data on the distribution of 492 tree, shrub, and palm species across the Pantanal wetland, describe the occurrence and distribution of vegetation types in biogeographic provinces (or subregions), and explore and discuss the floristic affinities of the Pantanal with other biomes in Brazil, namely, the Pampas, Cerrado, Chaco, Caatinga, Amazon, and Atlantic Forest. We point out the influence of soil type and altitude (height above sea level) on the distribution of the woody vegetation in the Pantanal wetland. Our analyses show differences in species composition between altitudinal categories, indicating that the lower parts of the Pantanal have a more specialized species group, probably due to more prolonged floods. We observed that Spodosols support a species composition different from Gleysols, Luvisols, and Vertisols; the Vertisol composition differs from that of Luvisols and Planosols, while the Planosol composition differs from Gleysols. The most frequent species occur in various habitats and thus are generalists with wide ecological amplitudes, which points to the relatively young floristic evolution of large parts of the Pantanal. The Pantanal woody and palm floras are strongly associated to those of the Cerrado, but also share many species with the semiarid Caatinga biome in Northeast Brazil. Knowledge of the differences between the vegetation types and regions, and the particularities of each one, can support more specific and, therefore, more efficient conservation strategies in each region.KeywordsInundationPhytogeographyReliefSoilsShrubTreePalmWetland conservation