CARACTERIZAÇÃO FLORÍSTICO-FITOSSOCIOLÓGICA DO COMPONENTE LENHOSO DE UM TRECHO DE CAATINGA NO SEMIÁRIDO PARAIBANO

Abstract

The caatinga vegetation has many physiognomies and in a general way is degraded by human pressure, so it is important to characterize phytosociologically its various facies. This study aimed to characterize the composition and structure of the woody component of a relatively homogeneous remnant of caatinga vegetation in semiarid region of Paraiba, in a region locally called as Seridó. We sampled all shrub-tree species, alive or dead, still foot, with basal circumference > 10 cm (at 30 cm from the base) and total height > 1m. Ten plots of 20 x 20 m were allocated, randomly distributed across the study area. The total density was 1622.5 ind./ha, distributed in 21 species, 21 genera and 11 botanical families. The main species, according to the index of importance value were Poincianella pyramidalis (Tul.) L.P. Queiroz, Aspidosperma pyrifolium Mart., Commiphora leptophloeos (Mart.) J.B. Gillett and Anadenanthera colubrina (Vell.) Brenan. Despite being an area that is considered well preserved within the region, the studied community has a high density of individuals with small diameter shafts (D0,3 ¿ 6 cm) (63%). The Shannon index (3.38) may be considered medium and the Pielou equability (0.85) indicates floristic heterogeneity of the shrub-arboreal component. The floristic composition and species richness are similar to those found in other studied areas of the region, except by the high abundance of Commiphora leptophloeos and Amburana cearensis (Allemão) A.C. Sm.