Abstract
The Deciduous Complex that occurs in northern Minas Gerais State, Brazil, raises questions about the floristic affinities of these formations in relation to neighboring phytogeographical domains. Little is known about the identity of the seasonal forest formations that comprise this complex, or about its relationships to abiotic components, such as soils, topography and climate. This study aimed to recognize the patterns of floristic similarity of all studied fragments of dry forest of northern Minas Gerais with soil and climate attributes, based on the available database. Cluster analysis indicated the existence of two floristic groups that had clear associations with either the Koppen's BSh (semi-arid) or Aw (seasonal tropical) climates. Likewise, the subdivisions of these groups showed clear associations with the dominant soil classes in the region. The Red-Yellow Latosol is the dominant soil classes in the BSh climatic domain, seconded by alluvial areas associated with Fluvic Neosols. The Aw domain comprised a much varied set of soils: Nitosols, Argisols, Cambisols and Litholic Neosols, most derived from the Bambuí limestone/slate formation. The ecotonal nature of northern Minas Gerais State provides a complex interaction between the flora of neighboring phytogeographical domains. This, allied to pedogeomorphological factors, allowed a better understanding of the effects of late Quaternary climate changes for the Deciduous Complex evolution. We conclude that the Latosols under present-day semi-arid climates (BSh) are relicts of former wetter climates, during which humid forest (semideciduous) expansion took place. Later, these semideciduous forests were subjected to a much drier climate, when selection for deciduousness led to the present-days Deciduous Complex scenario.
Highlights
The seasonally dry tropical forests, or seasonal deciduous forests, were classified by Veloso et al (1991) as a vegetation type influenced by a markedly624 DANIEL M
The 396 species considered in the present analysis indicated that the northern region of Minas Gerais State is an important ecotone possessing various vegetation forms
A large proportion of the species considered to be typical of dry forest (DF) occur in other Brazilian phytogeographical domains, such as Caatinga (e.g. Commiphora leptophloeos, Piptadenia viridiflora, Cereus jamacaru and Spondias tuberosa) and Cerrado (e.g. Platypodium elegans, Sterculia striata, Machaerium acutifolium and Peltophorum dubium)
Summary
The seasonally dry tropical forests, or seasonal deciduous forests, were classified by Veloso et al (1991) as a vegetation type influenced by a markedly624 DANIEL M. The seasonally dry tropical forests, or seasonal deciduous forests, were classified by Veloso et al (1991) as a vegetation type influenced by a markedly. Pennington et al 2006), in the present work we chose to restrict this designation only to deciduous forest formations (deciduousness above 50%, sensu Veloso et al 1991), which will be referred to in the text as dry forests sensu stricto (DF). In Brazil, DF are located within the Pleistocene Arch (Prado and Gibbs 1993) – an extensive range of natural forest areas extending from the northeastern Brazil (in the Caatinga domain) to the Brazilian southwest, and the dry lowlands of Bolivia and Paraguai (“ Chaco”). The floristic relationships of different DF with these two neighboring domains were described by Oliveira-Filho et al (2006) and Queiroz (2006)
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