Floresta e Ambiente (Jul 2020)

Flora of Baturité, Ceará: a Wet Island in the Brazilian Semiarid

  • Andréa Pereira Silvera,
  • Maria Iracema Bezerra Loiola,
  • Vaneicia dos Santos Gomes,
  • Luiz Wilson Lima-Verde,
  • Teógenes Senna Oliveira,
  • Edison Fernandes Silva,
  • Adriana Tamie Otutumi,
  • Kátia Araújo Ribeiro,
  • Francisco Alisson da Silva Xavier,
  • Morgana Maria Arcanjo Bruno,
  • Sarah Sued Gomes Souza,
  • Francisca Soares Araújo

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1590/2179-8087.032018
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 27, no. 4

Abstract

Read online

Abstract The biota of the humid mountain ranges of the Brazilian semiarid is still poorly understood. In order to fill this scientific gap, we carried out an extensive survey along altitudinal ranges (400m - 1,000 m) on both the windward and the leeward slopes of the Baturité Mountain Range, in the state of Ceará state. We registered 400 plant species and 92 families. The Myrtaceae (36 spp.), Fabaceae (25 spp.), Rubiaceae (20 spp.) and Bromeliaceae (15 spp.) families predominated on the windward slope; while Fabaceae (19 spp.), Myrtaceae (14 spp.) and Euphorbiaceae (11 spp.) were the most abundant on the leeward slope. As we expected, the species richness of trees, shrubs, subshrubs, epiphytes and terrestrial herbs was positively correlated with the altitude (R2 > 0.60). Above 800 m, we registered 273 species exclusive to the windward slope, 81 exclusive to the leeward slope, and 46 shared species. Therefore, management actions must consider the spatial heterogeneity, distribution and taxa richness.

Keywords