Phytosociological study of caatinga vegetation in the Estação Ecológica of Aiuaba (ESEC), Ceará state, Brazil

Abstract

The goal of this work was to characterize the physiognomy and structure of the woody component of an area of caatinga vegetation in the Estação Ecológica (ESEC) of Aiuaba, Ceará state, thereby contributing to the knowledge of the vegetation of semiarid northeastern Brazil. Fifty sampling plots (10x10m) were randomly established in a 1.5 hectare area, where stem diameter at soil level was ≥ 3 cm and height was ≥ 1 m. The survey results included 3,007 individuals from 47 species and 20 families. Fabaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Erythroxylaceae, Acanthaceae, Bignoniaceae and Rutaceae represented 66% of the species, and the first three families represented 63% of the total importance value. Croton argyrophylloides Müll. Arg., Pityrocarpa moniliformis Benth., Erythroxylum caatingae Plowman and Bauhinia cheilantha (Bong.) Steud. were the most important species. Average plant height was 4.51 m, with a maximum of 13 m; average stem diameter was 7.28 cm, with a maximum of 44.88 cm. The total basal area was 18.3 m2 ha-1. The plant community can be classified as a type of caatinga with shrubs and trees, presenting similar floristic composition to other caatinga vegetation in areas of sandy sediments, and to non-thorn deciduous vegetation (“carrasco”) situated in the Ibiapaba-Araripe Complex.

Keywords

• Análise edáfica
• Estrutura da vegetação
• Semiárido