Abstract
In order to produce useful knowledge to the initiatives of protection and management of forest fragments, more specifically for tropical dry forests which suffer with frequent anthropic activities, and due to the lack of specific studies, this article aimed describe the structure and the floristic similarity among three areas of dry forest with different management histories. The study was developed in Capitão Enéas municipality, Northern Minas Gerais, Brazil, where three fragments were evaluated, being one in regeneration for 30 years, another submitted to occasional fire and the third with selective cut in small scale. The sampling was developed through the point quarter method considering all the alive phanerophyte individuals with circumference at breast height (CBH) > 15 cm. In the three fragments, 512 individuals, distributed in 60 species, 47 genera, and 23 families were sampled. The most representative families were Fabaceae (26), Anacardiaceae (4), Bignoniaceae (3) and Combretaceae (3). However, fourteen families were represented by only one species. Only eight species were common to all fragments - Myracrodruon urundeuva standed out with 26.9% of all sampled individuals - while a great number of species were exclusive of each fragment. The floristic and structural differences between the fragments are possibly related to the history and intensity of management in each area besides the topography variations and the presence or absence of limestone outcrops. These results show the importance of each fragment, indicating that the loss of anyone would cause negative impacts on the regional flora and consequently to the associated biodiversity.
Highlights
Tropical Dry Forests (TDF) are formations subject to a well defined climatic seasonality alternating rainy and dry periods
C. leprosum, Machaerium acutifolium, Acacia sp., Schinopsis brasiliensis, Sapium obovatum and Bougainvillea praecox were common to the three sampled areas (Table 1)
The richness of species found in this work is similar to the observed by Gentry (1995) that has obtained an average of 64.9 species in 23 areas of Tropical Dry Forest (TDF)
Summary
Tropical Dry Forests (TDF) are formations subject to a well defined climatic seasonality alternating rainy and dry periods. The productivity occurs mainly during the rainy season when the litterfall accumulated during the dry season decomposes and increases the amount of organic matter to the soil (MURPHY and LUGO, 1986; SCARIOT and SEVILHA, 2005; PENNINGTON et al, 2005). The distribution of TDFs is spread as continuous outline or as natural patches surrounded by another kind of vegetation (SCARIOT and SEVILHA, 2005). According to these authors, in Brazil these formations occur mainly under the domain of Cerrado, Caatinga, Atlantic and Amazonian biomes. The gradient of environmental factors associated to the floristic aspects of the adjacent vegetations makes the species composition of this formation peculiar to each area where it occurs (PEDRALLI, 1997)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
