Composition and Functional Diversity of the Urban Flora of Alfenas-MG, Brazil

Abstract

Urban tree cover has important environmental and social functions and can act as ecological refuges. The objective of the present study was to investigate the taxonomic and functional diversities of urban plant communities in Alfenas, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. We sampled all trees DBH ≥ 3 cm in eight different urban green areas, recording 1,138 individuals and 119 species; two species were dominant: Poincianella pluviosa (Fabaceae) and Syagrus romanzoffiana (Arecaceae). The high species richness encountered reflected, in part, the presence of exotic species, which corresponded to 40% of the species and 25% of the total abundance. The functional diversity index (HF') was considered low, with the predominant functional traits among the species being small size, entomophily, zoochory, evergreen leaves, and dry fruits. We recommend that future urban afforestation projects incorporate strategies that increase the use of regional species as well as the functional diversity/complexity of those environments.

Diversity of Vascular Epiphytes in Urban Green Areas of Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil

“…Such dominance is probably related to the distinct conditions of those typical for the occurrence of epiphytic species so that some species can dominate new habitats over less capable species to "cope" with disturbed environments (for example, as seen in the prevalence of accidental epiphytes). This dominance is also found in studies about the urban flora evaluating other lifeforms (Kramer & Krupek, 2012;Santos et al, 2012;Freitas et al, 2015;Monalisa-Francisco & Ramos, 2019). This reflects the fact that the presence of plants in the cities is usually composed of one or a few dominant species (Pauleit et al, 2002), probably related to the availability of tree and shrub seedlings for planting, which must be tolerant to the stressing environment, as which probably occurs with epiphytes.…”

Aspectos Florísticos E Ecológicos Do Campus Regional Da Universidade Federal De Minas Gerais Em Montes Claros - Mg

“…Entomofilia foi a segunda síndrome mais representativa, com 22,3% das espécies amostradas. Táxons entomófilos, isto é, polinizados por diversos pequenos insetos, encontramse entre os mais recorrentes em espaços verdes urbanos (MONALISA-FRANCISCO et al, 2019) e fragmentos florestais nativos da Caatinga, Cerrado e Mata Atlântica (KINOSHITA et al, 2006;GOTTSBERGER;SILBERBAUER-GOTTSBERGER, 2018;LEAL et al, 2018). REVSBAU, Curitiba -PR, v.15, n.3, p.28-41, 2020 Em relação às síndromes de dispersão, a zoocoria predominou, perfazendo 45,9% das espécies.…”

People Prefer Greener Corridors: Evidence from Linking the Patterns of Tree and Shrub Diversity and Users’ Preferences in Lisbon’s Green Corridors

“…Finally, plant species were grouped according to functional traits relevant for urban ecosystem functioning and environmental balance [14]. We studied the following traits adapted from Cornelissen et al [13] and Duncan et al [28]:…”

“…One strategy to properly plan urban green spaces is to study plant diversity, and in particular plant functional diversity, which is a measure of biodiversity that incorporates species attributes (e.g., mode of pollination and seed dispersal, leaf typology and type of fruit) [13,14]. So far, most studies on urban plant diversity have focused on taxonomic diversity rather than plant functional patterns [10].…”