Structure, floristic composition and biotic integrity of Atlantic Forest fragment in secondary succession

• Autor(a) principal: Nahssen, Maria Helena Cury
• Data de Publicação: 2022
• Outros Autores: Germano, Aline Delfino, Morales, Milton Vinícius, Soares, Fabiana da Silva, Soares, Diego Ruiz, Vanderley, Ivan Silva, Valente, Roberta Averna
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Research, Society and Development
• Texto Completo: https://rsdjournal.org/index.php/rsd/article/view/29363
• topic: Fitossociologia; Índice de Integridade Biótica; Sucessão florestal secundária; Floresta estacional semidecidual.; Fitosociología; Índice de Integridad Biótica; Sucesión forestal secundaria; Bosque estacional semidecidual.; Phytosociology; Biotic Integrity Index; Secondary forest succession; Semideciduous seasonal forest.

Understanding forests in forest succession is essential to reveal the contribution of these communities to conservation and to understand the ecological filters that interfere in their successional trajectories. The objectives of this work were to describe the floristic composition and phytosociological structure of the shrub-tree community of an Atlantic Forest fragment in secondary succession, to evaluate its biotic integrity and to establish relationships among these parameters. Fourteen plots measuring 25 x 4 m were installed, individuals with DBH ≥ 5 cm were sampled and indicators were recorded to calculate the Biotic Integrity Index (IIB). Two hundred twenty-two individuals were sampled, belonging to 72 species, 48 genera and 24 families. The diversity index was 3.62 nat/ind and the equability was 0.84. The total density was 1586 ind./ha and the basal area was 39 m². The average IIB between plots was 32.35, representing a regular biotic community. The factors that most contributed to this index were the low number of palm trees, vascular epiphytes and late indicator species, and the many of tangles of vines. The results obtained in the phytosociological survey were largely complemented by the indicators that make up the IIB. The target vegetation area of this study represents a small, degraded forest fragment with, probably, its forest succession process compromised, being essential to the implementation of management actions.