Phytosociological survey as a tool for the Atlantic Forest restoration in Médio Paraíba do Sul

Abstract

Phytosociological surveys may consist as decision-making supports for implementation of projects aimed at maintaining the biodiversity or increasing the quality of services provided by the ecosystems. The present study was an immediate making the phytosociological survey of forest formation present at ‘Espaço Ecológico Educativo’, Pinheiral - RJ state, and based on the results, discuss actions needed to restore the remaining. Rectangular plots of 20 x 10 m were installed and distributed randomly in the slopes and alluvial forests, totaling 0.3 ha of the sampling area, about 5.0 % of the forest. All the individuals with Diameter at Breast Height (DBH)> 5.0 cm were recorded. The alluvial forests showed 27 species and density of 1600 ind./ha while in the slope were 37 species and the density of 1393 ind./ha. The Shannon index was 2.98 and the evenness was 0.56 for the forest in the slope and for alluvial forest the diversity was 2.59 and the evenness was 0.48. The floristic composition varied significantly between the forest types. The forest formations present in the area had low richness and diversity of species, demonstrating the need for enrichment in an attempt to restore the biodiversity values found in the reference forest ecosystems.

Keywords:
Forest enrichment; Aluvial Forest; Slope Forest; Médio Paraíba do Sul