Abstract
The fragmentation of tropical forests has been identified as the main reason for their biodiversity reduction. This process is extensively occurring in the Brazilian central area, where there still are insufficient information about the remaining flora and fauna of the Neotropical Savanna and Atlantic Forest ecotone. This study aimed to determine the floristic composition and the abundance of the arboreal and subarboreal components of four semideciduos forest fragments. The data indicates that the floristic richness is positively influenced by the fragment area. However, the proximity between fragments has no influence on their floristic composition. It was recorded 126 species belonging to 91 genera distributed in 43 families, with the dominance of Siparuna guianensis Aubl. in all fragments. More than half of the total number of species of the arboreal stratum was not recorded in the subarboreal stratum. In addition, the subarboreal stratum also presented exclusive species. A high number of unique species was also recorded in each fragment, which emphasizes the importance of these remnants conservation, regardless of their sizes and indicates the need to create a management plan to promote connectivity between these fragmented areas.
Highlights
The fragmentation of the native tropical forests generates many negative impacts on the structure and dynamics of diverse populations over time and this process is identified as a major cause of the biological diversity decline through the time (SMITH; ALI, 2009)
Higher species richness was recorded in the upper stratum (105) than in the subarboreal stratum (76)
The Siparunaceae family was represented by a single species Siparuna guianensis Aubl., which was abundant and dominant in both strata of all fragments
Summary
The fragmentation of the native tropical forests generates many negative impacts on the structure and dynamics of diverse populations over time and this process is identified as a major cause of the biological diversity decline through the time (SMITH; ALI, 2009). Studies regarding the impact of habitat fragmentation and those that characterize the local vegetation and floristic similarities among the remaining areas in Central Brazil are still scarce (CARVALHO; DE MARCO JUNIOR; FERREIRA, 2009; GARCIA et al, 2011). The southern Goiás studied region is dominated by semideciduous seasonal forests, but their natural landscapes became a fragmented mosaic due to extensive cattle farming and agricultural activities that succeed in those rich basaltic originated soils Over the past two years, for example, there was a 0.43%
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