Composição florística e estrutura do componente arbóreo de uma floresta altimontana no município de Camanducaia, Minas Gerais, Brasil

Abstract

-(Floristic composition and structure of a tree component of a high montane forest in the municipality of Camanducaia, Minas Gerais, Brazil). The floristic composition and phytosociological structure were investigated in an area of 0.75 ha of a montane forest (1,900 m a.s.l.) located between the municipality of Gonçalves and Camanducaia in the Serra da Mantiqueira. This forest belongs to the largest forest remnant in the region, and keep several headwaters of rivers which waters supply many cities in southern Minas Gerais and São Paulo. The phytosociological survey was done on 15 plots of 5 × 100 m where all trees with DBH ≥ 15 cm were recorded. The floristic survey listed 66 species and 29 families. The families with highest species richness were Myrtaceae and Solanaceae. The phytosociological survey recorded 1,501 individuals in 58 espécies, with density of 2,001 individuals per hectare. The most important families were Myrtaceae, Lauraceae and Meliaceae. The species with higher IVI were Ocotea lancifolia (42.88), Cabralea canjerana (29.53) and Psychotria velloziana (22.95). Species diversity (H') was estimated as 2.9 (nats.ind.-1 ). The floristic inventary showed an important richeness with typical relictual montane species and the presence of an endangered species, Dicksonia sellowiana (Dicksoniaceae). The protection of this remnant is very important as strategy of biodiversity conservation of atlantic tropical montane forest and as water resource to the southern Minas Gerais and São Paulo.Key words -floristic composition, phytosociological structure, tropical montane forest RESUMO -(Composição florística e estrutura do componente arbóreo de uma floresta altimontana no município de Camanducaia, Minas Gerais, Brasil). Investigou-se a composição florística e a estrutura fitossociológica em 0,75 ha de floresta altimontana, a 1.900 m s.n.m., localizada na divisa dos municípios de Camanducaia e Gonçalves, na Serra da Mantiqueira. Essa área situa-se no maior remanescente de mata da região, que abriga diversas nascentes de rios cujas águas abastecem várias cidades do sul de Minas Gerais e de São Paulo. O levantamento fitossociológico foi realizado em 15 parcelas de 5 × 100 m, onde todos os indivíduos com circunferência do tronco à altura do peito (ca. 1,30 m) ≥ 15 cm foram registrados, tendo seus diâmetros medidos e alturas estimadas. O levantamento florístico registrou a presença de 66 espécies arbóreas pertencentes a 29 famílias, muitas delas típicas de formações florestais de altitude do sul e sudeste do Brasil, bem como uma espécie ameaçada de extinção, Dicksonia sellowiana (Dicksoniaceae). As famílias com maior riqueza em espécies foram Myrtaceae e Solanaceae. No levantamento fitossociológico foram amostrados 1.501 indivíduos distribuídos em 58 espécies e 29 famílias. A densidade total calculada foi de 2.001 indivíduos por hectare. As famílias mais importantes foram Myrtaceae, Lauraceae e Meliaceae. As espécies com maior IVI foram Ocotea lancifolia (42,88), Cabralea canjerana (29,53) e Psychotria vell...

Floristic composition and structure of an upper montane cloud forest in the Serra da Mantiqueira Mountain Range of Brazil

“…The families Myrtaceae, Aquifoliaceae, and Lauraceae have also been shown to be highly representative of the structure of upper montane cloud forests in the state of Paraná, Brazil (Scheer et al 2011). In the upper montane cloud forest at Camanducaia, which, like our study area, is at an elevation of 1900 m, França & Stehmann (2004) found that the richest families were Myrtaceae, Solanaceae, Lauraceae, Rubiaceae, Symplocaceae, and Asteraceae. In another study conducted in the Serra da Mantiqueira, Meireles et al (2008) found that, along an elevational gradient ranging from 1820 m to 1940 m, the richest family was Myrtaceae, followed by Asteraceae, Lauraceae, Aquifoliaceae, Melastomataceae, Solanaceae, and Cunoniaceae.…”

“…In the upper montane cloud forest at Bocaina de Minas, where the elevation ranges from 1210 m to 1360 m, Carvalho et al (2005) found Melastomataceae and Myrtaceae to be the richest families, followed by Fabaceae, Lauraceae, Annonaceae, Solanaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Asteraceae, Cyatheaceae, and Rubiaceae. Other authors have also identified Myrtaceae as the richest family in montane forests within the Atlantic Forest Biome of Brazil, including other forests in the Serra da Mantiqueira (Pereira et al 2006;França & Stehmann, 2004;Meirelles et al 2008), as well as in other regions of the country, including the south (Scheer et al 2011) and southeast (Oliveira-Filho & Fontes 2000;Costa et al 2011). Conversely, the family Fabaceae was not found in our study area, and its absence at higher elevations has also been noted in other studies (Oliveira-Filho & Fontes, 2000;Gentry 1995;França & Stehmann, 2004;Meireles et al 2008;Scheer et al 2011).…”

“…Therefore, the final CCA was calculated using the following variables: sand, silt, and clay fractions; pH, P, K, Ca, and Al; sum of bases; cation exchange capacity at pH 7.0; organic matter; and remaining phosphorus. We used the Sørensen similarity coefficient (Brower & Zar 1984) and phytosociological parameters in order to compare the study area with other cloud forests studied in the Serra da Mantiqueira: at Poços de Caldas (Costa et al 2011); at Camanducaia (França & Stehmann 2004); at Monte Verde (Meireles et al 2008); and at Bocaina de Minas (Carvalho et al 2005).…”

“…In Brazil, cloud forests within the southern and southeastern segments of the Atlantic Forest Biome form a distinct, albeit poorly studied, floristic and phytogeographic unit (Bertoncello et al 2011). At the higher elevations of the Serra da Mantiqueira, Meirelles et al (2008) and França & Stehmann (2004) conducted tree community surveys at 1820-1940 m and at 1900 m, respectively. Nevertheless, the Atlantic Forest is considered a global priority area for the conservation of cloud forests .…”

Tree species composition in areas of Atlantic Forest in southeastern Brazil is consistent with a new system for classifying the vegetation of South America

“…Romariz (1996) highlighted the physiognomic variations between broadleaved forests and Araucaria forests and stated that there should also be a strong floristic differentiation. According (França & Stehmann 2004). Coastland dwarf forests are characterized by a rather different species composition, with a predominance of Clusia spp., Eugenia spp., Myrcia spp., and Myrsine spp.…”