Brief history and classification of capixaba vegetation

Abstract

The Espírito Santo state has a great variety of ecosystems in a relatively small territory. The exuberance of its forests has awakened the interest of many naturalists and travelers since the nineteenth century, who left valuable recordings of these early years of occupation of the "Areas Prohibidas" (Prohibited Areas), East of Minas Gerais. The coffee crops, one of the economic basis of the state, started the loss of these forests. Such losses also boosted the conservationist movement and the scientific research in the state. The biogeography, species richness, and the ecological processes in the remaining fragments of the Espírito Santo still reveal surprises. Within the Atlantic Forest domain, the state shelters different vegetational types: Ombrophilous Dense Forest, Ombrophilous Open Forest, Seasonal Semideciduous Forest, Savannas, Pioneer Formations, and Ecological Refuges. The description and classification of the vegetation is still unfinished due to the uncertainties raised by some studies. Moreover, there is a lack of a vegetation map that adequately contemplates the diversified vegetation. Despite these limitations, we present short descriptions of the vegetation types that have been recognized in the modern literature.

Key words:
conservation; Espírito Santo; phytogeography; Atlantic Forest