Florística, estrutura e mapeamento da vegetação de caatinga da Estação Ecológica de Aiuaba, Ceará

Abstract

Caatinga was recently recognized as one of the 37 great natural regions of the planet. In general, it has been described in literature as poor, having little value for conservation purposes. Perhaps due to this fact, caatinga may be the most devalued and least botanically recognized Brazilian biome, remaining as one of the most unknown in South America from a scientific point of view. In this context, the need for broadening knowledge about the distribution of organisms and the way they are organized into communities in caatinga is predominant. In the state of Ceara, caatinga is the most spatially representative phyto-ecological unit, covering approximately 72,980 Km2 and despite the great spatial coverage of caatinga, little is yet known about its patterns of vegetal communities in the State. Therefore, this study aims to contribute to the broadening of knowledge about caatinga, investigating the flora and structure, as well as carrying out the orbital mapping of the existing physiognomies in the vegetation of the Estacao Ecologica (EE) in Aiuaba, Ceara state. This is an area considered, by the National Biodiversity Program/PROBIO, to be of High Biological Importance in the state of Ceara. Random monthly botanical collections were carried out, in the period from October/2003 to February/2005, of herbs, subshrubs, shrubs, trees, epiphytes and lianas. The botanic collection is to be found deposited in the SPF, EAC, HUVA, IPA and K Herbarium collections. In the floristic survey 183 specimens were collected, belonging to 47 families, 113 genera and 161 species. From this total, two taxa are being proposed as new species for science. The richest families in specific terms were Leguminosae, Euphorbiaceae, Bignoniaceae, Convolvulaceae, Acanthaceae and Asteraceae, which corresponded to 51.5% of the species total. The highest Sorensen’s Similarity Index (IS) rate verified between the study area and other surveys carried out in different states of the Brazilian Northeast was 23.33%. Some species registered in the EE present a distribution throughout the northeastern semi-arid area, with some occurring in other Brazilian states and even in other South American countries. For the phyto-sociological study, 50 plots of 10 x 10m in an area of 1.5ha were assigned, by means of a draw. The stems of all living or dead but still “standing” woody organisms were measured, including lianas, which might become distinct at ground level and which might observe the following criteria: Diameter at Ground Level (DNS) ≥ 3cm and Total Height (AT) ≥ 1m. Three thousand and seven organisms were sampled distributed into 47 species and 21 families. Leguminosae, Euphorbiaceae, Erythroxylaceae, Acanthaceae, Bignoniaceae and Rutaceae corresponded to 65.9% of the species and the first three totaled 62.97% of the total importance value. Croton floribundus (Euphorbiaceae), Piptadenia moniliformis (Leg. Mimosoideae), Erythroxylum caatingae (Erythroxylaceae) and Bauhinia cheilantha (Leg. Caesalpinioideae) had the greatest importance values. The average and maximum heights and diameters were 4.51 and 13m and 7.28 and 44.88cm, proving that deals with a stretch of caatinga where the majority of organisms are concentrated in the stratum of less than 5m in height, with some emergent species. The use of CBERS-2 images and field data provided the elaboration of a vegetation map at the EE in Aiuaba. Through the processing of images, using the Normal Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), a vegetation map was produced. Three vegetational physiognomies were diagnosed, with a predominance of tall open shrubby-arboreal scrub. The importance of this study is in the basic information regarding the current state of vegetation, providing assistance for future studies related to the understanding and forecast of changes in the distribution pattern of vegetal communities, as well as enabling the effectuation of more detailed investigations. In a general aspect, this study generated information about the biological and environmental diversity of the EE in Aiuaba. Information like this is fundamental for the understanding of evolution, ecology and the conservation of a biota, providing support for governmental decisions in areas of environmental protection, as well as in the management of them.