Author(s): CALIXTO JÚNIOR, J. T.; MOURA, J. C. de; LISBOA, M. A. N.; CRUZ, G. V.; GONÇALVES, B. L. M.; BARRETO, E. S. de S. T.; BARROS, L. M.; DRUMOND, M. A.; MENDONÇA, A. C. A. M.; ROCHA, L. S. G.; SILVA, M. A. P. da; CORDEIRO, L. S.

Summary: 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.

Publication year: 2021

Types of publication: Journal article

Unit: Embrapa Semi-arid Region

Keywords: Caatinga, Flora, Lavras da Mangabeira, Manchas de Cerrado, Phytosociology, Serra do Boqueirão, Vegetação, Vegetação arbórea