Tree species diversity of coastal lowland semideciduous forest fragments in northern Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil
Habitat destruction has caused Brazilian coastal lowland semideciduous forests to suffer severe fragmentation. In the state of Rio de Janeiro, especially in the northern region, these fragments are under severe threat of destruction, while data on their floristic diversity and community structure ar...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Universidade Federal de Uberlândia
2014-06-01
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| Series: | Bioscience Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.seer.ufu.br/index.php/biosciencejournal/article/view/22018 |
| _version_ | 1819145742744289280 |
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| author | Karla Maria Pedra de Abreu João Marcelo Alvarenga Braga Marcelo Trindade Nascimento |
| author_facet | Karla Maria Pedra de Abreu João Marcelo Alvarenga Braga Marcelo Trindade Nascimento |
| author_sort | Karla Maria Pedra de Abreu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Habitat destruction has caused Brazilian coastal lowland semideciduous forests to suffer severe fragmentation. In the state of Rio de Janeiro, especially in the northern region, these fragments are under severe threat of destruction, while data on their floristic diversity and community structure are still lacking. In this study, six secondary forest fragments (henceforth called sites) of coastal lowland semideciduous forests with areas ranging from 13 to 1200 ha were studied. The objective was to evaluate the structure and diversity of trees of these sites and relate them to the conservation status of this region. Five plots of 20 x 20 m were established in each site, totalling a sample area of 1.4 ha and all trees with DBH ≥ 5cm were sampled. The families with the highest species richness were Fabaceae, Sapotaceae, Myrtaceae and Meliaceae. The most abundant species were: Metrodorea nigra, Pseudopiptadenia contorta and Senefeldera verticillata. The richness, evenness and Shannon diversity values ranged from 59 to 89 species, 0.75 to 0.87 and from 2.59 to 3.79 nats.ind-1, respectively. Sites showed high floristic similarity. The tree density values varied from 1410 to 1840 ind.ha-1 and were within the levels expected for semideciduous forest; however, the basal area values (19.8 to 28.0 m2.ha-1) are those usually observed in disturbed forests. Despite being secondary forests, the sites had high species diversity with occurrence of tree species of recognized conservation value. Urgent action must be taken to manage and conserve these forests, such as: (i) forest corridors establish connecting fragments especially using zoochorous tree species, and (ii) use forest enrichment techniques using species that are absent or presently at low density as a result of intensive exploitation in the past. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T13:02:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d23e2ee4ee0942059e86c7445dc1422c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1981-3163 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T13:02:52Z |
| publishDate | 2014-06-01 |
| publisher | Universidade Federal de Uberlândia |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Bioscience Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-d23e2ee4ee0942059e86c7445dc1422c2022-12-21T18:24:57ZengUniversidade Federal de UberlândiaBioscience Journal1981-31632014-06-0130522018Tree species diversity of coastal lowland semideciduous forest fragments in northern Rio de Janeiro State, BrazilKarla Maria Pedra de Abreu0João Marcelo Alvarenga BragaMarcelo Trindade NascimentoInstituto Federal do Espirito SantoHabitat destruction has caused Brazilian coastal lowland semideciduous forests to suffer severe fragmentation. In the state of Rio de Janeiro, especially in the northern region, these fragments are under severe threat of destruction, while data on their floristic diversity and community structure are still lacking. In this study, six secondary forest fragments (henceforth called sites) of coastal lowland semideciduous forests with areas ranging from 13 to 1200 ha were studied. The objective was to evaluate the structure and diversity of trees of these sites and relate them to the conservation status of this region. Five plots of 20 x 20 m were established in each site, totalling a sample area of 1.4 ha and all trees with DBH ≥ 5cm were sampled. The families with the highest species richness were Fabaceae, Sapotaceae, Myrtaceae and Meliaceae. The most abundant species were: Metrodorea nigra, Pseudopiptadenia contorta and Senefeldera verticillata. The richness, evenness and Shannon diversity values ranged from 59 to 89 species, 0.75 to 0.87 and from 2.59 to 3.79 nats.ind-1, respectively. Sites showed high floristic similarity. The tree density values varied from 1410 to 1840 ind.ha-1 and were within the levels expected for semideciduous forest; however, the basal area values (19.8 to 28.0 m2.ha-1) are those usually observed in disturbed forests. Despite being secondary forests, the sites had high species diversity with occurrence of tree species of recognized conservation value. Urgent action must be taken to manage and conserve these forests, such as: (i) forest corridors establish connecting fragments especially using zoochorous tree species, and (ii) use forest enrichment techniques using species that are absent or presently at low density as a result of intensive exploitation in the past.http://www.seer.ufu.br/index.php/biosciencejournal/article/view/22018brazilian atlantic forestforest fragmentationfloristicsphytosociology |
| spellingShingle | Karla Maria Pedra de Abreu João Marcelo Alvarenga Braga Marcelo Trindade Nascimento Tree species diversity of coastal lowland semideciduous forest fragments in northern Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil Bioscience Journal brazilian atlantic forest forest fragmentation floristics phytosociology |
| title | Tree species diversity of coastal lowland semideciduous forest fragments in northern Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil |
| title_full | Tree species diversity of coastal lowland semideciduous forest fragments in northern Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil |
| title_fullStr | Tree species diversity of coastal lowland semideciduous forest fragments in northern Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil |
| title_full_unstemmed | Tree species diversity of coastal lowland semideciduous forest fragments in northern Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil |
| title_short | Tree species diversity of coastal lowland semideciduous forest fragments in northern Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil |
| title_sort | tree species diversity of coastal lowland semideciduous forest fragments in northern rio de janeiro state brazil |
| topic | brazilian atlantic forest forest fragmentation floristics phytosociology |
| url | http://www.seer.ufu.br/index.php/biosciencejournal/article/view/22018 |
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