Agrobiodiversity in the agroforestry homegardens of the riverside community Ilha Saracá, in Limoeiro do Ajuru, northeast of Pará

Abstract

Agroforestry homegardens are areas close to residences, usually managed by family labor, common in tropical regions. These systems are composed of agricultural and forest species associated with small animal breeding. The study aimed at evaluating the structure and floristic composition in riverine homegardens from the Saracá Island, in Limoeiro do Ajuru, Pará. The study was carried out on 15 family farms. Through guided tours, data were collected to compose the botanical inventory of each homegarden, with the cataloguing and counting of the number of individuals for each species, as well as the register of the respective growth habits and phytogeographic origin. Finally, phytosociological parameters (frequency, density, and importance value) were analyzed. Homegardens presented an average area of 0.06 ha. It was found the occurrence of 115 species distributed in 101 genera and 50 botanical families, with emphasis on Lamiaceae. Most species are from exotic origin, with predominance of herbaceous species. The most frequent species were açaí (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) and cacau (Theobroma cacao L.), which indicates changes in the traditional management form to practices considered modern, especially commercialization.

Keywords:
Amazon; diversity; riverside; agroforestry systems; floodplain