Floristic and structure of the arboral community of a regenerating fragment of Atlantic Forest, Igarassu, Pernambuco, Brazil

Abstract

Understanding secondary forest structure and functioning is essential for future planning of effective use and/or recompositioning of such areas. The secondary succession process is influenced by the characteristics of componente species, their interaction with other species and with abiotic components.
 Thus, the objective of the current study was to evaluate the vegetation structure, dispersion syndromes and pollination of a secondary forest fragment with 5 years of regeneration in the Atlantic Forest landscape of Pernambuco, northern Brazil. A total of 30 permanent 10 x 10 m plots with 10 m separations were used
 for canopy sampling (i.e., all woody individuals with stem diameter at 1.30 m (DBH) greater than 5 cm. Floristic composition analysis recorded 32 species from 21 families. Absolute density was 150 individuals with basal area of 4.787 m² ha-1, and the Shannon-Weaver index (H ‘) was 2.960. The family with the highest number of species was Melastomataceae, while those with greatest abundance were Malpighiaceae (26) and Cecropiaceae (14). Species with the highest Importance Values included Byrsonima sericea (49.28%), Cecropia pachystachya (38.49%) and Bowdichia virgilioides (37.19%). The predominant tree species dispersal syndrome was zoochory (72 species), and the predominant pollination syndrome was melitophilia. Arboreal individuals were mostly recorded in the initial diameter and height classes, indicating that the study area is in the initial stage of succession.

Structure and Spatial Pattern of Vegetation in a Fragment of Atlantic Forest

“…Oliveira et al (2013) evaluated the horizontal structure in a fragment of Atlantic Forest in the State of Pernambuco and also identified the species Eschweilera ovata as one of the species with the highest Importance Value. Pinto et al (2018) in Igarassu, Pernambuco, evaluated the structure of a secondary forest fragment in the São José Plant and found lower values of VI, indicating a late succession, corroborating with the good state of conservation of the fragment evaluated in the present study.…”

Caracterização do Banco de Sementes do Solo em Floresta Ombrófila Aberta na Amazônia Ocidental

“…m -2 . Sousa et al (2017) descrevem que a densidade de plântulas emergidas aumenta com a intensidade de degradação florestal, sendo esse comportamento mais perceptível em fragmentos de floresta menores, onde observa-se predomínio de espécies pioneiras na vegetação estabelecida (Dullis et al, 2016;Pinto et al, 2018), que tem como característica abundante produção de sementes ortodoxas (Puig, 2008).…”