Scarce floristic information for Bauru Municipality and the formulation of hypotheses on occupation mechanisms of forest communities by savanna species represent the main questions that motivated this study. The research was carried out in two seasonal-semideciduous-forest fragments (5 ha and 7 ha) maintained by Jardim Botânico de Bauru - JBMB (Bauru Botanic Garden), which includes forested savanna as well. The plant material was collected during random walks and in plots installed for a phytosociological study. We found 264 arboreal-shrubby species belonging to 58 families. Of these, 126 species were collected exclusively in the forest community, while 66 species were collected in both plant communities. The families Rubiaceae (25 species) and Myrtaceae (21 species) had the highest number of species. A floristic similarity analysis was performed, based on Jaccard's index (S J), between the JBMB forest and 11 other forest remnants, some of which showed savanna floristic influence. The floristic richness of the JBMB forest fragments increased due to occupation by savanna species which came from the adjoining forested savanna. Previous fires plus the occurrence of distinct microenvironments were possibly the factors that facilitated the invasion by savanna species.
tension area; savanna species; microclimate; western plateau
