Abstract
This study aims to characterize and compare three Cerrado areas (one cerradão and two cerrado sensu stricto areas) in Patrânia, São Paulo state, southeastern Brazil, concerning the floristic composition. In total, 250 taxa were found belonging to four species of pteridophytes, one species of an exotic gymnosperm and 243 species of angiosperms. Differences in species number and proportion of the woody and herbaceous components were observed among the three Cerrado areas. The similarity analysis revealed that the cerradão seems quite peculiar, showing low similarity level with the cerrado sensu stricto areas contiguous to it, being more similar to other cerradão areas located in nearby municipalities.
Highlights
According to Coutinho (1978, 2002), the Cerrado (Brazilian savanna) is a vegetation complex encompassing a series of physiognomies from open grasslands to dense woodlands and three intermediate physiognomies.The Cerrado presents great diversity of plant species, and in this biome the occurrence of 385 species of pteridophytes and 11,242 species of phanerogams was registred until this moment (Mendonça et al 2008)
Among the several floristic surveys conducted to date in the Cerrado remnants of São Paulo state, southeastern Brazil, there is a predominance of inventories encompassing only the woody vegetation, and few studies cover all plant habits
The purpose of this study was to analyze the floristic composition of three different Cerrado physiognomies in the Pratânia municipality, Central West region of São Paulo state, Southeastern Brazil, aiming to answer the following questions: 1) Is there variation in species composition among the studied physiognomies? 2) Are there differences in the proportional distribution of the plants habit in the three areas of study? 3) Are there species characteristic of each physiognomy? 4) Are there similarities between the studied areas when compared with other Cerrado areas in the same region?
Summary
The Cerrado presents great diversity of plant species, and in this biome the occurrence of 385 species of pteridophytes and 11,242 species of phanerogams was registred until this moment (Mendonça et al 2008). This high number of species seems to be related to the wide range of environmental conditions present at the Cerrado due to its large area, covering about 25% of Brazil surface (MMA 2009). Among the several floristic surveys conducted to date in the Cerrado remnants of São Paulo state, southeastern Brazil, there is a predominance of inventories encompassing only the woody vegetation, and few studies cover all plant habits. Considering studies that include all plant habits some research previously done in the Pratânia municipality can be highlighted (Machado et al 2005; Carvalho et al 2010), as well as in other municipalities in the region, such as Águas de Santa Bárbara (Meira Neto et al 2007), Assis (Durigan et al 1999) and Botucatu (Gottsberger and Silberbauer-Gottsberger 2006; Ishara et al 2008)
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