Forests of the Iguaçu National Park: Structure, Composition, and Richness

Abstract

Considering the importance of the Iguaçu National Park for the conservation of the Atlantic Forest and the absence of scientific or technical studies characterizing the ecology of forest species after seven and a half decades of its existence, a phytosociological survey of the arboreal vegetation was conducted to identify the various existing species and their successional stages. A total of 54 families, 135 genera, and 218 species were found in this survey. Euterpe edulis Mart. was the most frequently occurring species, which together with Aspidosperma polyneuron Müll. Arg., characterize the seasonal forests in the central and south regions of the park. In the north region, located 700 m asl, Araucaria angustifolia (Bertol.) Kuntze and Ilex paraguariensis A. St.-Hil. were observed along with some seasonal species, characterizing a transitional environment between seasonal and ombrophillous forests. In general, forests in the park were classified in advanced stages of ecological succession.

Relation between environmental factors and structure of Atlantic Forest fragments

“…The study by Estevan et al [74] in fragments of Seasonal Semideciduous Forest in northern Paraná also showed resemblances with the present study, the most important species were the same: Trichilia clausseni, C. canjerana; Nectandra megapotamica; S. bonplandii and G. kunthiana. When considering the density, resemblances are also observed with the study by Souza et al (2019) [72], with an abundance of S. bonplandii, N. megapotamica, C. canjerana and B. riedelianum.…”

“…Many resemblances in species composition exist when compared with other studies in nearby areas of Seasonal Semideciduous Forest [70,71,74] and transitional areas between Semideciduous and Mixed Forests [72,73,78] (Appendix 2); however, there are differences in the structure of the communities, mainly in the species that present the highest abundances and IV, probably due to the different conditions of each area, whether related to the environment or anthropic activities.…”

“…Likewise, Bald et al (2021) [71], in a forest remnant of Seasonal Semideciduous Forest, found Fabaceae, Meliaceae, Rutaceae, Lauraceae and Myrtaceae as the richest families. Souza et al (2019) [72] and Adenesky-Filho et al (2017) [73] found as predominant families Fabaceae, Myrtaceae, Lauraceae, Euphorbiaceae and Meliaceae, and Estevan et al (2016) [74] found Fabaceae, Meliaceae, Myrtaceae and Lauraceae. Fabaceae was also the family with the highest species richness and stood out in most surveys done in Seasonal Semideciduous Forests [36,[75][76][77][78] due to the capacity of nitrogen fixation of many species, which favors the regeneration in soils with nutrient deficiency, or that underwent some disturbance [79,80].…”

Vespas Sociais (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) na Mata Atlântica do Paraná, Sul do Brasil

“…located on the border of the states of Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais (Souza et al, 2015(Souza et al, , 2018Ribeiro et al, 2019). This richness may be a reflection of the mosaic of environments, at different stages of ecological succession, observed in the study area (Souza et al, 2019), which may favor synanthropic species and those more frequent in environments under lower human pressure and less fragmented areas (Souza et al, 2010;Oliveira et al, 2017;Clemente et al, 2021;Coelho et al, 2022).…”

Floristic inventory of Myrtaceae of Parque Nacional do Iguaçu, Paraná, Brazil

“…Before this study, 28 species were recorded for the park, in the management plan (IBAMA, 1999), phytosociological studies (Gris & Temponi 2017;Gris et al 2014;Souza et al 2019), and in a checklist for ParNa Iguaçu (Trochez et (IBAMA 1999;Gris et al 2014;Gris & Temponi 2017;Souza et al 2017Souza et al , 2019Trochez et al 2017). Confirmed indicates that species were either recollected or identifications on herbarium specimens were confirmed.…”