Levantamento florístico e fitossociológico de uma área localizada no Cariri Paraibano

Abstract

The Caatinga is an exclusively Brazilian biome of unique beauty that covers an area of approximately 826,411 km², representing 11% of the Brazilian territory. Its biodiversity is considered great, however, the Caatinga remains the third most degraded Brazilian biome, preceded by the Atlantic Forest and the Cerrado. Therefore, scientific knowledge about the floristic diversity and structures of forest fragments in the Caatinga is of fundamental importance in the application of ideal techniques for the preservation and conservation of this biome. The objective of this research was to carry out a floristic and phytosociological survey of the shrub-tree vegetation in a fragment of Caatinga in Cariri Paraibano. The study was conducted in the rural area of the municipality of Boa Vista/Paraíba, in which 12 plots of 20 m x 20 m each (400m2) were created, totaling an area of 4,800 m2. A total of 971 individuals were measured, distributed across eight species from eight different genera, belonging to the botanical families Anacardiaceae, Apocynaceae, Burseraceae, Euphorbiaceae and Fabaceae and with a density of 2,022 ind.ha-1. Most of the population is below 2.50 m tall (42.27%) and below 3.90 dbh (70%). The species A. pyrifloium and C. nordestinum presented the highest IVI (100.51% and 64.35%, respectively) and CVI (39% and 21%, respectively). The ShannonWiever Diversity Index was found to be 1.03 nats.ind-1 and the Pielou Equability Index was 0.12. Thus, with low diversity values added to the numerous presences of pioneer species falling into the first classes of both height and diameter, we can conclude that the area is in the initial stages of ecological succession.