Species diversity, community structure and ecological traits of trees in an upper montane forest, southern Brazil

Abstract

Upper montane ecosystems in Brazil are little known, and their structural and functional aspects poorly understood. Our goals were to describe tree species diversity and community structure, and to characterize tree species in relation to their ecological traits, phytogeographic history and conservation status in an upper montane araucaria forest remnant. A total of 26 species belonging to 18 families were found in a 1-hectare permanent plot. The tree community mainly comprised trees with diameters of less than 20 cm and heights of between 6.5 and 9.5 m. Drimys angustifolia and Myrceugenia regnelliana had the highest importance values. Most species were shade tolerant while most individuals were pioneers. Most species and individuals presented zoophily and zoochory. Most sampled species and individuals were related to araucaria forests. Seven species are threatened to some degree while one species, Crinodendron brasiliensis, besides threatened, is also endemic to the region. The presence of endemic and endangered species demonstrates that the studied area serves important conservation purposes. Furthermore, the present study demonstrates the important role that upper montane regions have for conservation and describes the structural patterns of still poorly studied habitats, reinforcing the importance such systems have in maintaining species diversity at high elevations.

Tree Diversity in the Shola Forests of Brahmagiri Wildlife Sanctuary, Karnataka, India

“…The study has recorded a total of 65 tree species (≤1cm DBH) from 1 ha, showing greater species richness compared to 61 species in 63.17 ha 15 and 54 species in 11.34 ha. 10 Similarly, the values obtained from the study are comparatively greater than that of those studies done in 1 ha areas of the upper montane ecosystem in Southern Brazil 19 (26 species ha -1 ), secondary tropical evergreen forest in Cachar district of Assam 20 (52 species ha -1 ), tropical wet evergreen forest in Nelliampathy hills, Kerala 21 (30 species ha -1 ) and tropical wet evergreen forest in Karnataka 22 (28 -38 species ha -1 ). The values (63 species ha -1 ) obtained from the Thaishola of Nilgiri mountains 23 (2000 -2200 masl) are close to the diversity values obtained from the present study.…”

Impacto antrópico na dinâmica de uma floresta nebular do planalto catarinense

“…A riqueza de espécies observada ao longo dos anos, tanto para o componente adulto (34, 35 e 31) quanto para o regenerante (29, 33, 32 e 31), caracterizou-se por uma relativa estabilidade, sugerindo que, em um curto período de tempo (< 10 anos) e na ausência acentuada de distúrbios de larga escala, essa propriedade da vegetação não apresente grandes modificações em formações florestais tardias. Ainda, os valores encontrados são semelhantes aos observados em outros fragmentos florestais altomontanos da região (DUARTE et al, 2018;SÜHS et al, 2019). Porém, quando comparados aos valores referentes às áreas situadas em menores pisos altitudinais, a riqueza pode ser considerada baixa (SANTOS et al, 2018).…”

Subtropical high-montane forest climate refuges in Brazil

“…Among the species evaluated in this study, C. brasiliense and Drimys angustifolia may be considered endemic. D. angustifolia is very abundant in high montane forests in the southern region of Brazil (Sühs et al, 2019), and has adapted very well to this habitat. These results corroborate the idea that species may function as indicators in studies that quantify the impacts of climate change and help determine priority areas for conservation.…”

“…The Atlantic Forest is considered a biodiversity hotspot for hosting one of the richest assemblies of biological diversity on the planet. Within the scope of forests classified as high montane in Brazil (IBGE, 2012), tree species richness is relatively lower in higher elevation areas (above 1000 m) due to environmental filters such as low temperatures (Sühs et al, 2019). Despite this lower species richness, the ecological value of high montane forests is high due to their hosting unique species and attributes.…”