Small forest fragments and their importance for conservation of tree communities in Atlantic Semideciduous Forest

Abstract

It is important to consider the ecological relevance of small forest fragments, especially in areas that have high deforestation rates and few inventories. We aim to describe two stratum of tree communities from small fragments of Atlantic Semideciduous Forest in a highly fragmented landscape. We inventoried all woody individuals taller than 1.3 m in nine fragments, in ten 10 x 20 m plots per fragment. We sampled 8323 individuals and 303 species. Large numbers of species (33.66%) and families (20.7%) occurred only in the understory, while two families (16.4%) and 38 (12.21%) species occurred only in the tree stratum. Sampling two forest stratum was important because we found different species, due the inclusion of permanent wood species of the understory, in addition to young and adult tree individuals. Moreover, we could demonstrate the regeneration potential of the forest and that small forest fragments could present high diversity, with many rare and threatened species. Therefore, small fragments could be valuable to preserve biodiversity in highly fragmented landscapes.