Community structure and comparative analysis of the woody component of a cerrado remnant in Southeastern Brazil

Abstract

The aims of the present work were to carry out a floristic-structural study of the shrubby-arboreal component of a savanna fragment (cerrado sensu stricto) in São Paulo State, Southeastern Brazil, and to compare with other areas. Twenty one plots of 250 m² each were delimited and plants with stem basal diameter equal or superior to 3 cm were included in the sampling. The recorded individuals corresponded to 3,062 and 58 species belonging to 34 families were registered. Asteraceae had the largest number of species (seven), followed by Fabaceae and Myrtaceae (five each). The most important species were Tibouchina stenocarpa and Anadenanthera falcata. The floristic composition of the study area indicates that it might be considered a transition from cerrado to seasonal semi-deciduous forest. The comparison with other surveys indicates floristic-structural heterogeneity of these cerrado areas and the multivariate analysis showed that areas grouped according to their geographical position and soil type.

Keywords

• phytosociology
• savanna
• similarity