The scale of spatial distribution of three native tree species, Caryocar brasiliense, Pterodon pubescens and Sclerolobium paniculatum, and two native palm species, Syagrus comosa and S. flexuosa, in the cerrado was determined using three quadrat variance methods. The data were collected in an area of cerrado, sensu stricto, on the Fazenda Água Limpa of the University of Brasília in 128 contiguous quadrats of 5 x 8 m each. In each quadrat, all individuals of each species were located and their height measured. The scale of spatial distribution of each species was evaluated with the following methods: blocked quadrat variance (BQV); two-term local quadrat variance (TTLQV) and paired quadrat variance (PQV), for both all individuals and all woody individuals over 130 cm in height. The total number of individuals was 138 for C. brasiliense, 34 for P. pubescens, 82 for S. paniculatum, eight for S. comosa and 36 for S. flexuosa. All species showed a group in at least one of the methods. The time spent in collection of data was comparable to that for other studies of spatial distribuition and three of the five species had similar results in all methods. The pattern for C. brasiliense was similar to that found in another study using the same methodology, with a distance of approximately 350 m between groups.
Cerrado; spatial pattern; quadrat-variance methods
