Physiognomy and structure of a caatinga with Cordia oncocalyx (Boraginaceae), a new type of community in Andrade-Lima's classification of caatingas

Abstract

Recently, the inclusion of physiognomies with Cordia oncocalyx Allemão (Boraginaceae) as a new type/unit within Andrade-Lima's classification of caatingas (ALFPC) has been proposed. However, no study has quantitatively analyzed this proposal so far. In order to fill this gap, a phytosociological study was conducted in a caatinga with C. oncocalyx, and differences in structure and physiognomy in relation to compiled caatinga studies were verified. 1795 plants from 25 species and a total basal area of 35.26 m² were found. C. oncocalyx and Mimosa caesalpiniifolia Benth. (Fabaceae) had 48% of total importance index (IV). The physiognomy was characterized by the predominance of individuals of intermediate height (3‒4 m) and the tallest ones accounted for the highest fraction of basal area. Of the five species with highest IV, only one had high frequency among the species with highest IV in the compiled studies (16/35). Only two of these compiled studies were comparable to the present study, and only one could be classified according to ALFPC. A contrast between that study and the present one was found, as the first reports a dense community with high number of small diameter individuals accounting for most of the basal area. These findings suggest the suitability of including C. oncocalyx caatingas in low and medium caatinga forests as proposed in ALFPC. However, the low number of comparable studies limits generalizations.

Vegetação, unidades fitoecológicas e diversidade paisagística do estado do Ceará

“…Ambientes de ocorrência mais restrita, como as formações costeiras e carrasco (caatingas do sedimentar), e ambientes de exceção, como encraves de cerrado e matas úmidas, dispõem de mais proteção legal (Menezes et al 2010), de mais coletas botânicas (Freitas & Matias 2010) e de mais dados florísticos do que a caatinga do cristalino. Alguns trabalhos importantes nessa formação estão publicados em , Araújo et al (2011) e Costa & Araújo (2012).…”

Hydraulic architecture of lianas in a semiarid climate: efficiency or safety?

“…(Costa & Araújo 2012). The annual average temperature is 27°C, and the average annual rainfall is 698 mm, of which 84% is concentrated from January to April (Costa & Araújo 2012). The soil is a Leptosol (FAO 2006), which corresponds to clayey, shallow, and rocky soils.…”

Effect of water stress on seedling growth in two species with different abundances: the importance of Stress Resistance Syndrome in seasonally dry tropical forest

“…Phytosociological studies in caatinga show that Poincianella bracteosa is a species with a high abundance of individuals where water resources are limited (Mendes 2003;Moreira et al 2007;Lima 2011;Costa & Araújo 2012), while Libidibia ferrea has low abundances in these areas and preferentially occurs on the banks of temporary rivers (Queiroz 2009). Such abundance differences between species may be related to different strategies to cope with drought.…”