Checklist of the flora of the Restingas State of Sergipe, Northeast Brazil

Abstract

comprise geographically restricted surveys (Almeida Jr. et al. 2009), with the exception of the review of two floristic surveys and herbarium collection, on the restingas of Ceará state, by Santos-Filho et al. (2011). It is necessary to continue studies on these formations in order to improve our knowledge about the Brazilian restingas (Almeida Jr. et al. 2009). This is essential to support land use and occupation of the coastal region (Queiroz 2007), which is particularly important to protect the few areas along the Brazilian coast that are still occupied by remnants of native vegetation. In Sergipe, Northeast's smallest state, published works in areas of restinga are still scarce, featured only by Santos et al. (2011). However, some studies, monographs and dissertations have already donebeen, as the floristic survey accomplished by Nascimento, Jr. (2011) in Santo Amaro das Brotas, on the north coast of the state. Although there are protected areas in the region (one Biological Reserve, on the northern coast of the state, and one Environmental Protection Area, on the southern coast), the increased occupation of Sergipe's coast is raising concerns about the threats to the conservation of these environments and their diversity. This work presents a list of species of Angiosperms collected in the restingas of Sergipe state, in an effort to fill the research gap of the restingas in this area. Materials and Methods Study site Situated in the Northeast Region, the state of Sergipe has an area of 21,918,354 km 2 , with a population of 2068,017 inhabitants (IBGE 2010). Located between the coordinates 9°30′ and 11°30′ S, and 36°20′ and 38°00′ W, it is limited in the north by the state of Alagoas, in the east, by the Atlantic Ocean, and in the south and west, by the state of Bahia (Figure 1). (Sacramento et al. 2007). In the sandy coastal plains, the restinga vegetation consists of a mosaic of plant communities subject to marine and fluvial-marine influence, though physiognomically distinct (CONAMA Resolution No. 07/1996). It is a very peculiar ecosystem, diverse in structure and flora composition (Assis et al. 2004). The physiognomies found may vary from psammophylous-reptant herbaceous communities, in the region close to the seashore, to coastal forests, formed by shrub and tree species, in more distant areas ofthe ocean influence (Oliveira-Filho and Carvalho 1993). The restinga vegetation plays a primary role in the consolidation of the substrate, and provides food resources for resident and migratory wildlife (Scherer et al. 2005). Despite its importance, its composition is not well known, requiring further studies (Pereira et al. 2001), particularly in Northeastern Brazil (Sacramento et al. 2007). In this region, the restingas comprise a strip of sandy substrate, that goes from Bahia state to the mouth of the Parnaíba River, between the states of Maranhão and Piauí (Almeida Jr. et al. 2007). Despite the high diversity of species in the restingas of the Northeast (Almeida Jr. et al. 2007), there are still few studies ...

Diversity of Scleria (Cyperaceae) in Amazonian restinga in Pará state, Brazil

“…For restinga in Brazil, the states of Sergipe (Oliveira et al 2014) and Pará have the most species in common (Scleria gaertneri, S. hirtella, S. interrupta, S. microcarpa, and S. secans). Scleria bracteata is on some species lists for the Northeast Region of Brazil; however, it has not been recorded in Sergipe (Maranhão -Serra et al 2016; Rio Grande do Norte -Almeida Jr. et al 2006;Pernambuco -Zickel et al 2007;and Bahia -Britto et al 1993).…”

Checklist of Angiosperms in the Restingas of Pará state, Brazil, with comments on floristic affinities and phytophysiognomies

“…The richest families recorded in this study are also the most relevant in lists of the restinga flora of the Northeast Region of Brazil, in which Fabaceae, Cyperaceae, Poaceae, Myrtaceae and Rubiaceae are always cited as having the greatest number of species (Zickel et al 2007;Santos-Filho et al 2011Gomes & Guedes 2014;Oliveira et al 2014Oliveira et al , 2015Almeida Jr. et al 2017). Gentry (1988) cites Fabaceae as the dominant family in different Amazonian formations.…”

“…for Pernambuco (187 km) (Zickel et al 2007); and 831 spp. for Sergipe (168 km) (Oliveira et al 2014).…”

“…Cyperaceae and Poaceae are also dominant in restingas of the Northeast Region of Brazil, notably in the states of Ceará (Santos-Filho et al 2011) and Sergipe (Oliveira et al 2014) that have a similar richness compared to coastal Pará; for all three states, they are listed as some of the richest families in herbaceous swamps and dune fields. This is probably because representatives of these families easily reproduce and are wind dispersed in these environments, guaranteeing establishment in open formations with high luminosity (Almeida Jr. et al 2009;Cantarelli et al 2012).…”

“…According to Flora of Brazil 2020 (BFG 2015), the largest gap in the knowledge about the vegetation of the country is still in Amazonia. This includes restingas, which have been studied more in the Northeast (Almeida Jr. et al 2007Zickel et al 2007;Silva et al 2008;Santos-Filho et al 2011Oliveira et al 2014) and Southeast (Araújo et al 2009;Souza et al 2016) coastal regions of Brazil.…”