Abstract
Abstract Studies of the vegetation on islands off the coast of southeastern Brazil are still very scarce, despite their importance for assessing, managing, and conserving insular biodiversity. We present here a list of the vascular flora of Queimada Grande Island (QGI; 24°29′10″ S, 46°40′30″ W, 57 ha, 33.2 km from the coast) in southeastern Brazil and describe its phytophysiognomies. The island is covered mainly by Atlantic Forest (Dense Ombrophilous Forest), as well as with rock outcrop and anthropogenic vegetation with herbaceous-shrub phytophysiognomies. QGI showed relatively low species richness (S = 125) when compared to other Brazilian coastal islands. Herbaceous (52) and climbing species (31) predominated on QGI. The richest families were Fabaceae (11 species), Poaceae (9), and Apocynaceae, Asteraceae and Orchidaceae (8 species each). Most species (S = 112) are autochthonous from different phytophysiognomies of the southeastern Brazilian Atlantic Forest complex. Many species associated with anthropically disturbed areas (S = 26) can be found on QGI, including the invasive grass Melinis minutiflora. There was a slight predominance of zoochory (S = 50). We did not identify any species endemic to QGI. One of its species (Cattleya intermedia, Orchidaceae) is vulnerable at both national and regional levels, and another (Barrosoa apiculata, Asteraceae) is presumably extinct on the mainland in São Paulo State. The vascular flora of QGI originated from the mainland Atlantic Forest complex, following the pattern of other coastal islands in southeastern Brazil. The flora and vegetation of QGI reflect the combination of insular conditions, the small size of the island, habitat restriction, steep topography, incipient soils, and the past use of the area with the introduction of several foreign species. We recommend permanent monitoring of the vegetation cover of QGI and its management, in order to ensure the conservation of the local native biota.
Highlights
Islands have long attracted the attention of scientists and naturalists, and studies of their biota have produced important insights into the interactions of processes and patterns in biogeography (Lomolino 2000)
Our results indicated a very low richness of epiphytes on the island, with strictly epiphytic species accounting for only 2.4% of the local flora (S = 3: Acianthera saundersiana, Epidendrum densiflorum and Peperomia glabella), this number rises to 8% if hemiepiphytes (Monstera praetermissa) and facultative epiphytes with six species are included
Queimada Grande Island (QGI) showed a relatively low number of species when compared to other coastal islands of eastern and southeastern Brazil (Table 2)
Summary
Islands have long attracted the attention of scientists and naturalists, and studies of their biota have produced important insights into the interactions of processes and patterns in biogeography (Lomolino 2000). The Equilibrium Theory of Island Biogeography (MacArthur & Wilson 1967), for example, has strongly influenced studies of ecology and conservation biology through its proposal that the number of species on a given island is the result of both immigration and extinction rates, and that these two opposing forces are closely related to the size and isolation of the island. According to Kreft et al (2008), the richness of the vascular flora of an island is mainly determined by the island’s size, followed by its degree of geographic isolation, current climatic conditions, and its topography and geology. Island biotas are seriously threatened by climate change, habitat loss and, especially, the introduction of invasive alien species (Kreft et al 2008, Serafini et al 2010). Data on its flora are quite rare in the literature, except for Campos & Mello-Filho (1966), who presented a study of the flora that referred to approximately twenty (mostly ruderal) species
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