Abstract
Campos de murundus work as recharge zones and are important for the maintenance of water resources in Brazilian Cerrado. However, with the expansion of the agricultural frontier, this ecosystem may disappear or suffer high anthropogenic disturbances. The aim of the study was to evaluate the structure and distribution of woody species, after the implantation of artificial drainage channels in campo de murundus, in plots near and distant of the drains in the soil. We sampled woody individuals with ≥ 3 cm diameter at the base, and established 20 permanent plots of 20×50 m, 10 of which were between 0-20 m of the drains (edge) and 10 between 150-200 m distant from the drains (interior), totaling two hectares of survey. We recorded 47 species with total density of 230.5 ind.ha-1 and total basal area of 1.331 m2 ha-1. The diversity index of species was H’ = 3.18. We recorded higher density and basal area in the edge, and differential distribution and occupation of woody species in the microrelief of the murundus. This provides us strong evidence that the drains have altered the vegetation structure, especially in the edge of the remnant campos de murundus turning the vegetation woodier and denser.
Highlights
We recorded a total density of 230 ind. ha-1 and basal area of 1.331 m2.ha-1
The values of H’ found here are close to those recorded in other campos de murundus, such as in Mato Grosso, Minas Gerais, Goiás and Distrito Federal, ranging from 2.33 to 3.56 (Oliveira-Filho, 1992; Resende et al, 2004; Silva, Vale, Haidar, & Sternberg, 2010; Maricato et al, 2017)
In general, species diversity in campos de murundus are lower than those recorded for woody vegetation in adjacent cerrado sensu stricto, probably due to the occurrence of woody plants being limited only to murundus (Oliveira-Filho, 1992)
Summary
Campos de murundus are characterized as savanna formations which occur in the Brazilian Central Plateau These fields are important for the maintenance of the water flow, showing groundwater outcrops, especially during the rainy season (Resende, Araújo, Oliveira, Oliveira, & Ávila Júnior, 2004; Pinto, Mews, Jancoski, Marimon, & Bomfim, 2014; Marimon et al, 2015). Known as parque de cerrado (sensu Ribeiro & Walter, 2008), varjão or covoais, the latter being the term popularly known in southwestern Goiás This physiognomy is characterized by woody plants grouped in convex elevations in the terrain (mounds), which have regional denominations such as cocoruto, monchão or murundu, as adopted in this study. The murundus are surrounded by a wet grassland (grasses, sedges and herbaceous), where the water table reach the surface during the rainy season (Oliveira-Filho, 1992; Marimon et al, 2015)
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