Availability and use of woody plants in a agrarian reform settlement in the cerrado of the state of Goiás, Brazil

Abstract

Protected areas are important sources providing plant resources for human populations, and contributing to the livelihood and income of families. To test the ecological apparency hypothesis, that there is positive relationship between the visibility of a species and its use, we conducted an ethnobotanical survey in the protected area of the Itaúna rural settlement in the municipality of Planaltina, in the state of Goiás, in central Brazil. The phytosociological parameters were obtained in 5.6 ha area of the Brazilian cerrado (savanna), and the ethnobotanical survey conducted with semi-structured interviews with 75 people. There was a weak positive correlation between the use value and the phytosociological parameters. A principal component analysis showed that seven species (Pterodon pubescens, Hancornia speciosa, Hymenaea stigonocarpa, Eugenia dysenterica, Annona crassiflora, Stryphnodendron adstringens and Solanum lycocarpum) have high use value, despite having low density, dominance and frequency. Nineteen species showed a positive relationship between their use value and their phytosociological parameters. The relationship between vegetation structure and use value differed among species in the protected area, indicating that more attention should be paid to those under more pressure, with low abundance. Further studies of these seven species should be conducted to determine whether human pressure is affecting populations structures and to define management strategies.Key words: cerrado, ecological apparency, use value, ethnobotany, phytosociology Acta Botanica Brasilica 27(3): 604-612. 2013. Availability and use of woody plants in a agrarian reform settlement in the cerrado of the state of Goiás, Brazil

Can ecological apparency explain the use of plant species in the semi-arid depression of Northeastern Brazil?

“…Tunholi et al (2013) reported that weak correlations between the UV and the phytosociological parameters might relate to the different origin of the informants, who apply knowledge from their place of origin, but we did not find this to be an important factor in the present study.…”

Ecological Apparency Hypothesis and Plant Utility in the Semiarid Region of Brazil

“…Lawrence et al 2005, Lozano et al 2013, Lucena et al 2007, 2012a, 2014, Ribeiro et al 2014a, 2014b, Thomas et al 2009, Tunholi et al 2013, seeking not only to understand this relation, but also to set standards for the demand of certain species groups through the test of the ecological apparency hypothesis. However, more satisfactory results were found in studies conducted in humid tropical areas ( Lawrence et al 2005, Lozano et al 2013, Lucena et al 2012, 2014, Mutchnick & McCarth 1997, Phillips & Gentry 1993a, 1993b, Ribeiro et al 2014a, 2014b, Thomas et al 2009, Tunholi et al 2013. Unlike this perspective, sampling in this study was carried out through point-quadrant methods in order to verify that Table 3.…”

Use of Wood Resources in Two Rural Communities of Angical do Piauí/PI, Brazil

“…Categorias de uso com menos espécies tendem a concentrar o impacto da extração em menor número de espécies, tornando--se, assim, mais impactantes nas populações vegetais. Além disso, espécies preferidas podem vir a sofrer maior pressão de coleta (Cavalcanti et al, 2015) e tal fato pode contribuir na modificação das populações vegetais de espécies preferidas nessas categorias ao longo do tempo (Tunholi et al, 2013). Depreende-se parcialmente, portanto, que a categoria construção, por apresentar mais espécies citadas, apresenta o impacto de extração mais distribuído entre as espécies.…”

“…e Cenostigma gardnerianum Tul., que, segundo os atores sociais da pesquisa, ocorrem em locais de terra mais seca, sendo mais comuns nas proximidades da Chapada do Hamilton. Tal fato tem sido confirmado em alguns estudos que testam a hipótese da aparência ecológica, que relaciona o uso com a disponibilidade do recurso na área, como no estudo de Tunholi et al (2013), em que 19 espécies apresentaram correlação positiva entre os parâmetros fitossociológicos e o valor de uso.…”