Population structure of Clusia criuva Cambess. (Clusiaceae) and spatial relationship to bromeliads at Parque Municipal das Dunas da Lagoa da Conceição, Florianópolis, SC

Abstract

“Restinga” habitats present many stressful conditions for plant establishment. Clusia criuva occurs in these habitats, including dune fields, and for this reason the Parque Municipal das Dunas da Lagoa da Conceição, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina State, Brazil, was chosen as the area of study. In habitats where resources are scarce and abiotic conditions are severe, it is common to find positive interactions between plants (facilitation). Some studies suggest that bromeliad species facilitate other plants in “restinga”. The present study evaluated the population structure of C. criuva in two different habitats, i.e. in an internal dune and in dune slack, both with herbaceous and sub-shrub vegetation. The study described the differences in populations and the relationship between the occurrences of C. criuva and bromeliad species. The populations showed an aggregated pattern and low density in the two areas. On the dune slack, the plants were younger, and seemed to have colonized the area recently. In the dune itself, we observed a positive relation between C. criuva and the bromeliad species Vriesea friburgensis Mez var. paludosa (L. B. Smith) L. B. Smith. This relationship was not observed in the dune slack where the abiotic conditions are less restrictive in relation to the availability of water and nutrients.

Keywords

• dune
• “restinga”
• facilitation
• Clusia criuva
• Vriesea friburgensis