Richness, geographic distribution and ecological aspects of the fern community within the Murici Ecological Station in the state of Alagoas, Brazil

Abstract

We conducted a floristic survey of ferns within the Murici Ecological Station (remnant of the northeastern Atlantic Forest), located near the municipalities of Messias and Murici, in the state of Alagoas, Brazil. To increase knowledge of the ferns of Alagoas, we evaluated the species occurring in the study area in terms of richness, composition, geographic distribution, similarities with species in other Brazilian biomes, regional conservation status and ecological aspects. Data were obtained from field work conducted between March 2009 and September 2010. We identified 107 species of ferns, of which 19 represent new records for Alagoas. The richest families were Pteridaceae (29 species) and Polypodiaceae (22 species). The richest genera were Adiantum (15 species) and Thelypteris (9 species). Most of the species sampled are widely distributed throughout Brazil and the Americas. Within the context of the northeastern Atlantic Forest, 12 species were considered endangered. Concerning the ecological aspects, 88.8% of the species identified were herbaceous, 57.9% were terrestrial and 70.0% occurred in the forest interior.

Inventory of Ferns and Lycophytes of the RPPN Pedra D'Antas, Pernambuco state, northeastern Brazil

“…This result supports the majority of fern and lycophyte inventories in the NAF (e.g. Santiago & Barros 2003, Xavier & Barros 2003, Santiago et al 2004, Xavier & Barros 2005, Pereira et al 2011, Pereira et al 2013). This pattern of predominance of terrestrial habitat can be explained by the diversity of favorable conditions promoted by this substrate, such as water availability, shade, as well as greater availability of nutrients (Sota 1971).…”

“…Santiago & Barros 2003, Xavier & Barros 2003, Santiago et al 2004, Xavier & Barros 2005, Pereira et al 2011, Pereira et al 2013). However, some taxa are not usually registered in NAF, such as Megalastrum umbrinum (Farias et al 2015), which has been found only in the present area, as well Elaphoglossum glabellum and Ctenitis glandulosa, which had few records in this unit and were previously recorded in two other NAF areas.…”

New records of Megalastrum in the northeastern Atlantic Forest

“…The species include new records for the Northeastern Atlantic Forest, demonstrating the importance of carrying out further inventories of ferns within this biogeographical unit. Finally, we highlight the need to keep the conservation efforts regarding both of these protected areas of the Northeastern Atlantic Forest, as well as the need to add new records for them, since these areas are rich in flora, there are 82 fern species in RPPN D'Antas (unpublished data) and 107 species in ESEC Murici (Pereira et al 2013). …”

Population Structure of the Endangered Tree Fern Cyathea Praecincta (Cyatheaceae), Endemic of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

“…This species has only rarely been recorded in inventories carried out in Northeastern Atlantic Forest (e.g. Pietrobom & Barros 2007, Silva et al 2011, Pereira et al 2013, which represents the most fragmented and unknown biogeographical unit of this biome, and with the highest number of endemic and/or endangered species populations (Rodrigues et al 2004) outside protected areas (Ranta et al 1998, Uchôa-Neto 2002.…”

“…Studies involving C. praecincta usually present fl oristic data and only brief information on the species ecology, precisely its preference for forest interior and less anthropized environments (Pietrobom & Barros 2007, Pereira et al 2013. In this context, this study aimed to increase the knowledge on the ecology of C. praecincta by analyzing the population structure of the species, including Iheringia, Série Botânica, Porto Alegre, 72(3):420-423, 31 de dezembro de 2017 information on the population spatial distribution and density.…”