Diversity, floristic composition, and structure of the woody vegetation of the Cerrado in the Cerrado–Amazon transition zone in Mato Grosso, Brazil (original) (raw)
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Diversity, floristic and structural patterns of cerrado vegetation in Central Brazil
Plant Ecology, 2004
The cerrado has been identified as one of the richest and most threatened biomes of the world, but few phytogeographical studies have been undertaken in the region. A total of 70 land systems based on climate, landscape and soils have been identified in the region, but it remains to be seen if the distribution and structure of the plant communities support these divisions. The aim of this work was to compare the floristic and structural similarity of cerrado sensu stricto within and between three physiographic units, named Pratinha, Veadeiros and São Francisco, which contain six land systems in central Brazil and cover 10 degrees of latitude and five degrees of longitude. The woody vegetation of 15 selected sites of the cerrado sensu stricto physiognomy was surveyed under a standardized methodology. The number of species per site varied from 55 to 97, with most sites having around 60 to 70 species, and Shannon´s diversity indices ranged from 3.44 to 3.73, with most sites around 3.5 suggesting high alpha diversity. Sørensen´s floristic similarity index was high, with all Figures above 0.5 between the sites in the same land system in each physiographic unit but low between sites in different land systems in the Veadeiros. Czekanowski similarity indices were lower than Sørensen’s in the comparisons due to a high structural differentiation between the sites. There is a large overlap in species occurrence in the sites but the size of their populations is very different at each site. Therefore, the high beta diversity is mostly due to differences in abundance of species between sites. The sites were separated by physiographic units, considering the first three divisions of TWINSPAN classification. The first axis of DCA ordination showed a gradient going from the cerrado on deep soils in Pratinha, through to those on sandy soils in São Francisco and ending on the shallower soils of the Veadeiros. Land systems conformed well with the floristic and structural variations of the vegetation, indicating their potential use in designing a network of conservation areas in the cerrado region and as a basis for decision-making on management.
Biogeographic patterns, -diversity and dominance in the cerrado biome of Brazil
Biodiversity and Conservation, 2000
From a total woody flora of ca. 1000 species, a suite of 121 species forms an oligarchy dominating the cerrado biome. This mirrors patterns of dominance described in western Amazonian rain forests. Widespread sampling shows that across the biome this suite of species contributes on average 66% of the total species composition, and 75% of the total Importance Value Index in cerrado communities. An analysis of the floristic similarity between six cerrado phytogeographic provinces (southern, central and south-eastern, central-western, far-western, north-eastern, disjunct Amazonian) reveals great heterogeneity within the biome, principally of the less common species. Of the 951 species recorded from 375 floristic surveys across the biome, 494 species (more than half of the total) are found in only one of the provinces, with very few species (37, i.e., 3.9%) found in all six provinces. Each of the provinces contains a significant number of species which are apparently confined to it, ranging from 15 species (1.6% of the total woody cerrado flora) in the far-western province (primarily in the state of Rondoˆnia) to 162 species (17%) in the central-western province. At the local level, floristic similarity can be very high. An analysis of the floristic composition of 13 sites within the Federal District shows a woody flora of 236 species, indicating that 25% of the total woody flora of the cerrado biome is represented in 0.3% of its area, illustrating the great conservation importance of this region. Floristic similarity between sites within the Federal District is high, although much of this similarity is accounted for by 'oligarch' species which account for between 59 and 89% of total species recorded per site. Informed conservation judgements within the cerrado need to take account of regional floristic patterns to ensure maximum protection of biodiversity, as the majority of species are not geographically widespread within the biome.
Brazilian Journal of Botany, 2017
A number of studies have focused on the species composition and diversity of the woody vegetation of the ''Cerrado'', but few comparative data are available on the flora or the structure of different physiognomies and vegetation strata, precluding more general assessments of variations within the biome. We aimed to evaluate the diversity, species composition, and structure of the upper (trunk diameter at 30 cm above the ground-D 30 C 10 cm), middle (D 30 C 5 and \10 cm) and lower (D 30 C 2 and \5 cm) strata of two plots of typical ''Cerrado'' (TC1 and TC2) and two of sparse ''Cerrado'' (SC1 and SC2) in the Serra Azul State Park in Barra do Garças, Mato Grosso, Brazil, discussing possible implications for the conservation of the biodiversity of the ''Cerrado''. We sampled 3658 individuals representing 75 species and 29 families. The density and diversity of species were higher in the TC plots, irrespective of the stratum analyzed. In all four plots, the density of the middle and lower strata was higher than that of the upper one, although species richness tended to be higher in the middle and upper strata. Species composition was highly similar between SC and TC plots. The same species were dominant in all four plots, and no indicator species were identified for either type of vegetation, indicating that the SC plots represent a subset of the TC ones. Given this, it is important that the selection of areas for conservation units includes both types of habitat, considering their distinct compositions and structural characteristics. This would contribute considerably to the preservation of the diversity of the local flora.
Scientia Forestalis
There is a lack of studies on phytosociology of Cerrado fragments within the Caatinga biome, located in the Southern region of Ceará State, associated to the Brazilian Crystalline Shield geological formation. Thus, contributing to the diagnosis and knowledge of this plant community, a survey on the general flora and especially the structure of arboreal vegetation was made. Every individual with SND ≥ 3cm (total height), within 12 parcels with 12x30 m (0.432 ha) of area was sampled. The floristic similarity was calculated by the Jaccard index, in comparison with ten other Brazilian Cerrado areas. Fourty-six species distributed in 22 families were found, comprising a total of 906 individuals, with AD=2,097.22 ind.ha-1. The highest abundance was found within families Fabaceae (20.31%) and Vochysiaceae (19.98%). Qualea parviflora, Annona leptopetala, Hymenaea stignocarpa and Callisthene fasciculata had the highest IVI index species. The calculated biodiversity indexes were: alpha diversity of Shannon (H') = 3.8 and equitability of Pielou (J') = 0.83. The results obtained show the area as a vegetation relict, under threat due to the penetration of Caatinga species, climatic changes, insufficient conservation efforts and fast anthropic deforestation. As a result, this relict area tends to shrink to a fragment much smaller than it was in the past.
The Vegetation of Priority Areas for Cerrado Conservation in São Paulo State, Brazil
Edinburgh Journal of Botany, 2003
Natural cerrado vegetation in São Paulo State now covers less than 7% of its original area and exists only as isolated fragments. Eighty-six sites in these priority cerrado conservation areas were surveyed using a rapid assessment technique. A total of 554 species of vascular plants, belonging to 77 families, was recorded. The vegetation types encountered comprised: campo sujo, campo cerrado, cerrado sensu stricto, cerradão, wet campo, riparian forest, swamp forest, ecotone cerrado/forest and seasonal semi-deciduous forest. Two-Way Indicator Species Analysis (TWINSPAN), Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) and Unweighted Pair-Groups Method using Arithmetic Averages (UPGMA) revealed a weak similarity pattern based on geography, but divided the sites into two main structural groups: (a) areas where more open forms of cerrado occur (cerrado sensu stricto, campo cerrado); (b) areas where only forest physiognomies occur (cerradão, ecotone cerradão/seasonal semi-deciduous forest, or ri...
THE VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CERRADO IN EMAS NATIONAL PARK (GOIÁS, CENTRAL BRAZIL
The cerrado, a savanna-like ecosystem, is the second largest vegetation type in Brazil, originally covering about two million km 2 (or 23%) of the Brazilian territory. The Emas National Park (ENP), comprising about 133,000 ha, is one of the most important reserves within the cerrado. From November 1998 to October 1999, we carried out a floristic survey of all the cerrado physiognomies of the ENP and found 601 species, belonging to 303 genera and 80 families. Among the collected species, 12 were weeds and seven were new to science. The herbaceous to woody species ratio was 3.03:1. The richest families were Asteraceae (88 species), Fabaceae (87), Poaceae (51), Myrtaceae (39), and Lamiaceae (24); these five families comprised 48% of the total number of species. The results obtained show the importance of the ENP to cerrado conservation, since from 8 to 20% of the species recorded for this vegetation type occur within the reserve. We emphasize the need for more floristic surveys in which the frequently overlooked herbaceous component should also be sampled.
Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências
The Chapada das Mesas National Park is a federal reserve located in the State of Maranhão, in an ecotonal region of the Brazilian Northeast Cerrado. Aiming to assess the infl uence of biogeographic patterns and support restoration actions for regions where information is scarce, we analyzed the fl oristic composition of savanna and forest Cerrado physiognomies, the fl oristic relationships with other Brazilian Cerrado areas and investigated the fl oristic relationships between the Cerrado and the Amazon, and the Caatinga and Atlantic Forest biomes. A total of 242 species in 181 genera and 64 families are recorded in our study. Fabaceae was the most representative family. We report 50 new records of species for Maranhão, four new records for the Cerrado biome and one vulnerable species. The separation of the gallery forest from cerradão and typical cerrado by ordination shows the infl uence of water availability and soil characteristics on fl oristic composition. In Cerrado ecotonal regions, such as Mato Grosso and Maranhão, the presence of species shared with the Amazon is expressive. In addition to the Amazon, physiognomies had greater fl oristic connection with the Caatinga fl ora. Our data demonstrates that the marginal areas of the Brazilian Cerrado may present high species diversity.
Diversity and indicator species in the cerrado biome, Brazil
Australian Journal of Crop Science
The Cerrado biome has high species richness, endemism and spatial heterogeneity. Knowing the main characteristics and peculiarities of the flora is essential to adequately protect the species richness of the Cerrado. Therefore, the objective of this study was to analyze the species richness, alpha diversity and beta diversity of four vegetation types in the Paracatu River Basin (15°30'/19°30'S and 45°10'/47°30'W), Paracatu-MG. The four vegetation types cerrado (stricto sensu, "cerradão" or Savannah woodland, deciduous seasonal forest and riparian forest) were sampled following the Manual for Monitoring Permanent Plots of the Cerrado and Pantanal Biomes. Alpha diversity was assessed using the Simpson (Ds´) and Shannon & Wiener (H') indexes, and beta diversity using the Sørensen and Jaccard similarity indexes. The "cerradão" vegetation type had the highest number of species (106) and highest alpha diversity (3.83nats.ind-1). The cerrado stricto sensu had the lowest species richness (54 species) and alpha diversity value (2.65 nats. ind-1). Beta diversity was high (low Jaccard and Sørensen similarity) except between cerrado stricto sensu and "cerradão". The initial hypothesis of this study was rejected, because although the phytophysiognomies are located on the same land system, the beta diversity is high, except for the cerrado stricto sensu and "cerradão", which had similar diversity.
A biogeographic and evolutionary analysis of the flora of the North eastern cerrado Brazil
Plant Ecology & Diversity, 2019
Background: The forest-savanna habitat switching is thought to have been a recurrent event in evolutionary history. Notwithstanding, the centre of the Cerrado, a large biogeographic domain, may be hypothesised to be a region with historical climatic stability and thus is predicted to contain high richness of cerrado species and the presence of few species from adjacents domains. Aims: We tested if today's flora of the north-eastern cerrado (NC), a peripheral province of the domain, demonstrated an observable gradient in their distribution from centre of the Cerrado towards adjacents domains. Methods: We compiled vegetation survey data for 178 sites in the cerrado of north-eastern Brazil. Distribution patterns of plant taxa were assessed using multivariate techniques. Results: We recorded 1071 species in 390 genera and 85 families. Almost 40% were monogeneric families and ca. 50% were monospecific genera. The species composition in the NC followed a gradient related to the distance from the centre of the Cerrado towards its periphery. Conclusions: We show that the NC flora is unique and much richer than previously thought and that it is likely to be an outcome of evolutionary processes and of today's intermixing of species from adjacent formations.