Forest Structure and the Species Composition of the Parque Estadual Mata Atlântica, Located in Goiás State, Brazil
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Hindawi International Journal of Ecology Volume 2018, Article ID 1219374, 9 pages https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/1219374 Research Article Forest Structure and the Species Composition of the Parque Estadual Mata Atlântica, Located in Goiás State, Brazil Ismael Martins Pereira ,1 Jovan Martins Rios,1 Vagner Santiago do Vale,1 Vera Lúcia Gomes-Klein,2 Ademilson Coneglian,1 and Ednaldo Cândido Rocha1 1 Universidade Estadual de Goias´ (UEG), Campusˆ Ipameri, Ipameri, GO, Brazil 2Department de Botanica,ˆ Universidade Federal de Goias´ (UFG), Avenida Esperanc¸a, S/N, Campusˆ Samambaia (Campus II), Goiania,ˆ GO, Brazil Correspondence should be addressed to Ismael Martins Pereira; [email protected] Received 22 August 2017; Accepted 10 December 2017; Published 15 January 2018 AcademicEditor:L.M.Chu Copyright © 2018 Ismael Martins Pereira et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Te Parque Estadual Mata Atlanticaˆ (PEMA), Goias´ state, Brazil, is an Atlantic Forest reserve which has not been studied yet. Te aims were to investigate plant biodiversity and characterize the fora to support the management plan. We adopt the point-centered quarter method to inventory the tree-shrub and lianas with the diameter at breast height more than or equal to 5 cm. Te study was performed through 1.86 km of transect with 187 sampled points. We sampled 748 individuals and identifed 109 species, 82 genera, � and 51 families. Te Shannon-Wiener diversity index (� ) was 3.97, and Pielou’s evenness (�) was 0.846, both considered high. Te Fabaceae family was the most diverse with 20 species. Aspidosperma polyneuron, an endangered tree species, had greater relative dominance and importance value. Te foristic similarity analysis indicated that the PEMA vegetation belongs to the seasonal forest, currently very fragmented and degraded. Due to several anthropogenic threats, we suggest the following recommendations: prevent the exploitation of species, avoid hunting, control invasive grasses, prevent forest fres, and promote environmental education. Tis study demonstrates the importance of PEMA for species conservation. Terefore, this study is essential for the development of management plan and the conservation of PEMA biodiversity. 1. Introduction Cerrado), lowland tropical rainforest, and montane forest [7]. An estimate indicates that the extent of SDNF makes up 2 Te Atlantic Forest Domain (AFD) is the second largest about 15% of the Cerrado area (ca. 300,000 km )insmall American rainforest [1], recognized as a global biodiversity areasoruptotensofthousandsofsquarekilometers,for hotspot [2]. Tis forest originally covered ca. 148 million example, “Mato Grosso Goiano” in central region of Goias´ hectares; approximately 92% is distributed in 17 Brazilian state and “Trianguloˆ Mineiro” in Minas Gerais state [8]. states, and the remainder belongs to Argentina and Paraguay OtherdisjunctionsofSDNFinthevalleysofSao˜ Francisco [3, 4]. and ParanariversinGoi´ as´ and Tocantins states are not Te classifcation of Brazilian vegetation recognizes two groups in the Atlantic Forest Domain: rainforests and sea- measured [9]. sonal forests [5]. Te rainforests occur near the coast. Te Despite the importance of the Atlantic Forest, it is very Seasonal Dry Neotropical Forests (SDNF) are inland in the fragmented and degraded, and therefore the remnants are country as enclaves in the Cerrado and Caatinga biomes important for conservation [10]. Tus, the conservation of [5, 6]. Tese forests occur in disjunct patches scattered AFD becomes a challenge due to various factors (fres, throughout the Neotropic, and the major biomes where deforestations, and fragmentation), especially because of the SDNF is in contact are the savanna woodland (e.g., the high level of human disturbance [11]. It is necessary to 2 International Journal of Ecology conduct foristic studies and to create new reserves, especially Te individuals were identifed in situ or by botanical in higher diversity areas [12–15]. samples in laboratory analysis. Te fertile botanical material Te aims of the present study were to inventory the fora will be deposited in the Universidade Estadual de Goias´ of tree-shrubs and lianas of Parque Estadual Mata Atlanticaˆ (UEG) herbarium. Species nomenclature was standardized (PEMA), located in the Agua´ Limpa municipality, Goias´ state, according to the Plant List (http://www.theplantlist.org/), the Brazil, to improve the knowledge of local fora, and to support International Plant Name Index (http://www.ipni.org), and the management plan of PEMA. Jardim Botanicoˆ do Rio de Janeiro (http://foradobrasil.jbrj .gov.br/refora/foradobrasil/FB90947). Te APG IV was used 2. Materials and Methods for the botanic classifcation of species, genera, and families [25]. 2.1. Characterization of the Study Area. PEMA was estab- lished by Decree 6.442 of April of 2006. Te PEMA is man- 3. Results aged by “Secretaria do Meio Ambiente, Recursos H´ıdricos, Infraestrutura, Cidades, e Assuntos Metropolitanos (SEC- Te study was performed through 1.86 km of transect with 187 IMA)” of Goias´ State, Brazil. It covers about 940 hectares and sampled points. We sampled 748 individuals and identifed islocatedinthemunicipalityofAgua´ Limpa, southern region 109 species, 82 genera, and 51 families. Te Shannon-Wiener ∘ � �� ∘ � �� � of Goias´ state (18 21 03 S; 48 76 85 W) (Figure 1). diversity index (� ) was 3.97, and Pielou’s evenness (�) was Te average elevation of PEMA is 611 m, bordered by 0.846. Te estimated richness was higher than the observed Brisas Reservoir that belongs to the Itumbiara hydroelec- richness (Figure 2). tric dam, Goias,´ Brazil (Figure 1). Te soils are Dys- Te most representative families in species number were trophic Litholic Neosols-Eutrophic Haplic Cambisols to red Fabaceae (20), Malvaceae (7), Myrtaceae (6), Apocynaceae Eutrophic Argisols [16]. Te climate is characterized by two (5), Bignoniaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Rubiaceae, and Sapin- distinct seasons, a hot and rainy season from November to daceae, with four species each. Chrysobalanaceae, Meliaceae, March and a dry season from April to October [17]. Te Moraceae,Rutaceae,andSalicaceaewererepresentedbythree climate is classifed as Aw (Koppen)¨ (tropical with summer ∘ species each, totaling 63% of all identifed species (Figure 3). rains). Te average annual temperature is 23.5 C, and average Te species with the highest relative density (RD) annual rainfall is 1.314 mm for Agua´ Limpa city, Goias´ [17]. were Casearia gossypiosperma (7.63%), Myrcia splendens (5.62%), Metrodorea stipularis (4.42%), Myracrodruon urun- 2.2. Vegetation Inventory and Data Analysis. We used the deuva (3.75%), Syagrus oleracea (3.75%), Anadenanthera point-centered quarter method (PCQM) for phytosociolog- colubrine/Myrcia rostrata (3.61%), Trichilia claussenii (2.75%), ical survey. Te distance between sampling points was 10 m, Apuleia leiocarpa (2.68%), and Casearia rupestris (2.41%). totaling 187 sampling points in 1.86 km of nine transects. We Tese species contributed with approximately 40.43% of the registered the distance from the point, height, and diameter living individuals (Table 1). Another 39 species contributed from all trees, shrubs, and lianas, live or dead, whose diameter with only a single individual. Te four species with highest atbreastheight(DBH)wasequaltoorlargerthan5cm. relative density (RD) are the same with regard to relative We analyzed the following phytosociological parameters: frequency (RF): C. gossypiosperma (6.12%), M. splendens � Shannon-Wiener diversity index (� ),Pielou’sevenness(�) (5.65%), M. stipularis, and S. oleracea (3.93%). Te species [18], relative density (RD), relative dominance (RDo), relative with highest values of the relative dominance (RDo) were frequency (RF), and importance value (IV) [19]. Aspidosperma polyneuron (15.04%), followed by A. colub- Te species accumulation curve was constructed to eval- rina (10.56%), Hymenaea courbaril (7.99%), Ceiba speciosa uate sampling sufciency. Te estimation of species richness (6.68%), Enterolobium contortisiliquum (5.36%), Cariniana was performed using the Jackknife 1 estimator [20] in the estrellensis (5.06%), Attalea phalerata (4.24%), Apuleia leio- EstimateS program version 9.1 [21]. Tese results were used carpa (3.28%), Aspidosperma discolor (3.27%), and M. urun- for construction of observed (Mao Tao) and estimated species deuva (2.38%). Te sum of top 10 species in terms of IV accumulation curves. corresponded to 43.21% from the total. Dead individuals Te presence/absence matrix for all species founded in presented the highest IV and the second largest relative PEMA was compared with other domains: Atlantic Forest density (RD = 7.23). ∗ Domain (AFD), including Seasonal Dry Neotropical Forests Six endangered plants were identifed in the PEMA (SDNF), Cerrado, and Amazonian Rainforest (ARF). Te (A. leiocarpa,garapa;Astronium fraxinifolium,gonc¸alo alves; categorization of the main phytophysiognomy in which the A. polyneuron,perobarosa;Bowdichia virgilioides Kunth, species occurs was based on the literature records [8, 22– sucupira preta; Cedrela fssilis,cedro;andM. urundeuva, 24]. Tis data matrix was used to perform a cluster analysis aroeira) (Table 1). using the Jaccard Similarity Index as a measure of similarity Clusteranalysisofforisticsimilaritiesshowedthatabout between PEMA and the other biomes by Unweighted