Abstract
This study aims to detect the composition, abundance patterns, and successional stage distributions exhibited by arboreal species inside and at the linear edge of a submontane seasonal forest in the Chapada Diamantina (12°28'31'S, 41°23'14'W), Bahia, Brazil. The individual plants with breast height diameters ≥5 cm were sampled in 30 quadrats (10 m × 10 m), 15 in the forest edge and 15 inside the forest. Species were classified according to successional category. Phytosociological and diversity indices were calculated. Shannon indices were compared using Hutcheson's t-test, and the remaining parameters were analyzed by ANOVA. Linear edges exerted a high impact on the floristic composition, diversity, and abundance of species, though little interference was observed in the structure of the community, since phytosociological parameters and the proportions of successional categories did not differ between the edge and inner forest fragment. The impact of linear infrastructure was similar to that of other border types. Additionally, even though the distance between forest fragments was very short, an edge effect was observed, which underlines the importance of linear forest edges to biodiversity conservation.
Highlights
Brazil ranks among the countries with the highest plant species richness in the world, and enjoys considerable diversity of forest ecosystems due to its wide variation in climatic conditions and soils (Gentry 1982; Leitão-Filho 1987)
Linear edges exerted a high impact on the floristic composition, diversity, and abundance of species, though little interference was observed in the structure of the community, since phytosociological parameters and the proportions of successional categories did not differ between the edge and inner forest fragment
The present study showed the greatest impact of linear edge on floristic composition, diversity, and abundance of species, whereas little interference was observed in the structure of the tree community
Summary
Brazil ranks among the countries with the highest plant species richness in the world, and enjoys considerable diversity of forest ecosystems due to its wide variation in climatic conditions and soils (Gentry 1982; Leitão-Filho 1987). The forests within the transition zone of the semiarid nucleus include the seasonal forests on the east side of Chapada Diamantina National Park, which are considered part of the Atlantic Forest (sensulato; Oliveira-Filho & Fontes 2000) and cover the largest forested section of the Chapada Diamantina. These forests are the most degraded in the region, due to timber extraction and agricultural and cattle farming activities (Funch et al 2005). These anthropogenic factors have led to the destruction and loss of biodiversity of such vegetation, even though the natural richness of these regions has not been properly investigated (Funch et al 2008; Ribeiro-Filho et al 2009; Couto et al 2011)
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