NATIVE SPECIES INDICATED FOR DEGRADED AREA RECOVERY IN WESTERN PARANÁ , BRAZIL 1

Colonization in the State of Paraná has culminated in the devastation of large forest areas in the entire State. Degraded area recovery programs have emphasized the utilization of native species, but often the species indicated for local reforestation areas are unknown, as those areas are little known floristically. This study aimed to survey native species indicated for reforestation of areas in the Western region of the State of Paraná, classify those species as pioneer, secondary, or climactic, and indicate places of occurrence of matrices where seeds of those species could be collected. Bibliographic surveys in the specialized literature and research in the Herbarium Museu Botânico Municipal de Curitiba (MBM) and Herbarium of Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Paraná (UNOP) were conducted to identify potential species for degraded area recovery in the study of Western region of Paraná. In all, 115 species were selected, of which 22 are pioneer, 73 are secondary, and 20 are climactic. The bibliographic surveys suggests that pioneer species are the most indicated for the initial processes in the degraded areas recovery, while secondary and climactic species play a major role in area enrichment.


INTRODUCTION
The Atlantic Rainforest comprises three floristic complexes: Dense Ombrophilous Forests, Seasonal Semidecidual or Decidual Forests, and Subtropical Ombrophilous Forests (VELOSO et al., 1991).Although those complexes have a number of elements and aspects in common, they are very diversified with regard to their physiognomies and compositions.The study area, located in western Paraná state, comprises both Seasonal Semidecidual Forests and Subtropical Ombrophilous Forests.
Seasonal Semidecidual Forests are located in temperate climate zones, at elevations between 400 and 800m for the most part.The climate is humid, with moderate temperatures, hot summers, and annual rainfall ranging from 1000 to 1600 mm.They comprise both fertile soils such as oxisols (terras roxas) and poor and sandy soils.Even in regions not far apart from each other, a highly diversified physiognomy is present; however, the literature lacks more detailed information on the floristic composition of that forest before it was severely devastated (CÂMARA, 1991).
The elevation limit of the Subtropical Ombrophilous or Araucaria Forests is about 500m, although single patches can be found in lower areas as well as in higher elevations up to 1800m.The climate is invariably humid, with moderate summers.Originally the Subtropical Ombrophilous Forest covered a vast area in southern Brazil.Today there are approximately 1600km 2 about 0.8% of this phytoecological unit, due to a progressive anthropic action.This vegetation is confined to a few remnants of its original condition; however, it still shows a high degree of conservation and high biodiversity (RÖGLIN et al., 2007).
Dramatic changes to the landscape and to the structure and functionality of ecosystems were necessary for the development of mankind on the planet.Changes caused by man sought to increase the productivity of elements of interest for mankind and their domestic animals, with no concern for the rest of the environment (REIS et al., 2006).
The development of degraded area recovery projects is indispensable in order to restore the balance between man and nature.This is only possible with the incorporation of rational and less impacting projects that will allow ecodevelopment (JACOMEL; MARANHO, 2005).

Legal Reserves Areas and Permanent Preservation
Areas are the main targets for the degraded ecosystems restoration.The global and effective deficit is estimated in at least one million hectares in the State of Paraná and 40 million hectares in Brazil (CARPANEZZI; CARPANEZZI, 2006).
Originally, the territory of the State of Paraná was almost entirely covered with Atlantic Rainforest, which occupied 85% of the state; currently, however, only a small fraction of those forests remains unchanged.Intense deforestation, caused by the implementation of livestock and farming activities, has left only fragments of those forests in the state (MAACK, 2002).
Evaluations about the biodiversity, number, and geographic location of those forest fragments are the most important means employed to determine conservation strategies, to recover the vegetation, and to reestablish connections that will maintain the gene flow among species (KERSTEN, 2006).
At present, it is necessary to conciliate productive areas with conservation areas, thus causing a synergy between those dramatically fragmented landscapes.Therefore, in order to maintain the quality of life on earth, the degraded areas recovery, especially with respect to increasing the connectivity between fragments, has become a vital action (REIS et al., 2006).Although several degraded area recovery and degraded ecosystem restoration studies have been conducted, there has been a knowledge gap with regard to the exclusive use of native species and especially with regard to the conduction of such studies in the Western part of Paraná inasmuch as existing degraded ecosystem restoration projects and studies refer to other regions of Paraná and to other states.As a result, a knowledge of native species indicated for degraded area recovery in the Western part of the State of Paraná is indispensable and justified.
The objective of this study was to conduct a survey to determine native pioneer, secondary, and climactic species, as well as to present localities of occurrence of matrices of species indicated for degraded areas reforestation in the Western region of Paraná.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Bibliographic studies on all the specialized literature on the present floristic in the Western region of Paraná (IBAMA, 1999;LORENZI, 2002;CARVALHO, 2003; Native species indicated for degraded area... Revista Árvore, Viçosa-MG, v.36, n.1, p.113-125, 2012 CARPANEZZI;CARPANEZZI, 2006;CARVALHO, 2006) were conducted.Later, studies on the main herbaria with samples from the region, Museu Botânico Municipal de Curitiba (MBM) and Herbarium da Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Paraná (UNOP) were conducted to identify the species with natural occurrence in the Western region of Paraná that are consequently suitable for degraded area recovery in the study area.
For each species listed, it was selected the place of occurrence closer to the Western region of the state, according to the bioclimatic regions of the Paraná (EMBRAPA, 1986).
The species were classified into successional groups after Carpanezzi and Carpanezzi (2006) and Silva et al. (2004).According to those authors, the species present the following successional groups: pioneer species require much light during their lifetime; their initial growth is very fast with a short lifetime (from four to 30 years); they are important in the formation of seed banks; secondary species, despite of being light demanding, they can tolerate shading in the beginning of their lifetime, with a moderate to rapid initial growth and a lifetime from 25 to 100 years; and climactic species, which tolerate strong shading for many years or remain in the understory during their entire lifetime, grow slowly, and have a moderate to long lifetime, forming plantlet banks.

RESULTS
A total of 115 native species were found in the Western region of Paraná (Table 1), of which about 19% were classified as pioneer, 64% as secondary, and 17% as climactic with respect to their ecological groups.In the bioclimatic regions of Paraná (EMBRAPA FLORESTAS, 1986) five had been shown as areas of occurrence of native species of Seasonal Semidecidual Forests and Subtropical Ombrophilous Forests.The regions with greater number of species were areas 2 and 3, with 24 and 71 species, respectively.The 29 remaining species had been registered in three bioclimatic regions: 1; 4 e 6 (Table 1).

DISCUSSION
The recovery of ecosystems can be improved by means of plant species that facilitate natural succession and accelerate the establishment of other species in the area, especially in recently-exposed surfaces (CHADA et al., 2004;CAMPELLO and FARIA, 2004, CONNEL;SLATYER, 1977).Kageyama et al. (1994); Kageyama and Gandara (2004) observed that a certain hierarchy exists for light requirements from pioneer to climactic species and that each group requires distinct light intensities.
Pioneer species are very important in the ecological succession process inasmuch as they are less demanding with regard to the soil and have shorter life cycles that require much light during the entire cycle.These are fast-growing species that provide soil protection and microclimate conditions that are required for the establishment of species that belong to later successional stages.These species facilitate natural succession and their fruits serve as an attractive to the integrated fauna, which brings seeds from other areas (BOTELHO et al., 1996;DAVIDE and FARIA, 1996;GALETTI;STOZT, 1996;REBRAF, 2006).
Out of the 22 pioneer species found, three were often used in reforestation projects in the Western region of Paraná: Calliandra brevipes Benth.; Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi and Croton urucurana Baill.
Calliandra brevipes is a species that occurs mainly from Paraná to Rio Grande do Sul.The species is indifferent to soil physical conditions and is tolerant to frosts (CARPANEZZI; CARPANEZZI, 2006).It is often associated with river banks in Subtropical Ombrophilous Forest and Seasonal Semidecidual Forest regions.
Another example is Schinus terebinthifolius (pink pepper or aroeira) which is an evergreen, heliophyte, and pioneer plant common on the banks of rivers, streams and in humid lowlands of secondary formations; however, it also grows in dry and poor soils (LORENZI, 2002).This species is recommended for the recovery of less fertile soils (such as shallow, rocky, hydromorphic, or saline soils) because of its ruggedness, aggressiveness, and pioneer character, and fast growth (CARVALHO, 1988).Carvalho (2003) stated that because of its zoochorous dispersal, pink pepper is one of the most sought-after species by the avifauna, which is the most important disseminator in our midst.
A third example is sangra d'água (Croton urucurana) a deciduous, heliophyte species that typically occurs in very humid, swampy areas (LORENZI, 2002).It is a very fast-growing plant, reaching about 4m in height two years after planting (MAXIMANO, 2008).It is frequently used for riparian forest regeneration because of its ability to withstand long periods under water and the ability to resist to a water column depletion area of up to 1 meter and withstand seasonal frosts (ASSAD-LUDEWIGS, 1989;BARBOSA, 1989 et al., 1996).This species is also helpful for faunistic recovery, offering shelter and food such as extrafloral nectar (VERA, 1994).Pollination is anemophilous in open environments and it is occasionally performed by bees (PIRES, 2004); dispersal occurs by explosive dehiscence, flowers are melliferous and leaves and fruits provide food for many species of fish (BRAGA; GOMIERO, 2003;MAXIMANO, 2008).
Secondary species play an important role in ecological succession because of their rapid growth and large or medium-sized canopies, providing shading for climax species; they are indicated for area enrichment (CARPANEZZI; CARPANEZZI, 2006).
Amid the 73 secondary species, three were largely distributed in the region of the study (Cabralea canjerana (Vell.)Mart.; Cedrela fissilis Vell.and Luehea divaricata Mart.& Zucc.), they were frequently registered in the Parque Nacional do Iguaçu and cited in the literature as promising species for reforestation in degraded areas in the Western region of Paraná.
One example is canjarana (Cabralea canjerana), whose fruits are highly ecological valued because of their high nutritional content; the juicy arillus can be consumed by several species of birds and small mammals, thus disseminating the seeds.For this reason its addition is indispensable in the composition of heterogeneous reforestations in areas appointed for permanent preservation (APREMAVI, 2009;LORENZI, 2002).The species is also highly plastic, that is, it has great capacity of undergoing phenotypic variations (induced by the environment) as a form of adaptation without the occurrence of genotypic variation, and it becomes adapted to various levels of solar radiation, under different lighting conditions, in experiments conducted in nurseries (SOUSA-SILVA et al., 1999;FUZETO;LOMÔNACO, 2000;FELFILI et al., 2001).
Another example is cedar (Cedrela fissilis), a deciduous, heliophyte or sciophyte plant, typical of semideciduous forests.It occurs from Rio Grande do Sul to Minas Gerais, especially in decidual and Atlantic rainforests.
Its pollen, nectar, and fruit provide food for the fauna, resulting in seed dispersal and consequently in forest revegetation (VASCONCELOS;AGUIAR, 1982;SCHUCH, 2005).Because this species thrives in humid soils, it is recommended for the degraded ecosystems restoration and for the recovery of riparian forests in sites where flooding occurs (DURIGAN; NOGUEIRA, 1990).In addition to these characteristics, Paiva and Poggiani (2000) verified that Cedrela fissilis shows fast growth in diameter, providing shading quickly for climax species.
A third example is açoita-cavalo (Luehea divaricata), a deciduous, heliophyte species, typical of riparian forests and galleries, indicated for the recovery of semi-hydromorphic and non-hydromorphic areas, frequently found in secondary formations (CURCIO et al. 2007;LORENZI, 2002).
Açoita-cavalo (Luehea divaricata) is recommended for crops in Permanent Preservation Areas, on steep slopes, river banks and in areas where the soil is periodically flooded, since it can withstand short-term periodic floods and moderate waterlogging (TORRES et al., 1992).In addition, dormancy does not occur in this species, thus facilitating germination.It is a fast growing plant, which also tolerates shading when young as well as low winter temperatures, such as those that occur in the State of Paraná; however, it has low resistance to late frosts (CARVALHO, 2003).According to Anton et al. (2002), this species can be recommended for the degraded areas regeneration because it has a considerable number of individuals in cases of ecological succession.Moreira (2004) mentioned that Luehea divaricata is a very promising species for the revegetation of areas because of its high survival index and fast growth, in addition to a significant canopy area, allowing the development of climactic species that do not tolerate substantial incidence of sunlight during germination.
Climax species become settled after pioneer and secondary species create favorable conditions for their establishment (REIS, 2006).They are more demanding species with respect to soil type and amount of light, with slow growth and life cycles from moderate to long (CARPANEZZI; CARPANEZZI, 2006); they should be included in area recovery processes as a means of providing area enrichment.
Of the 20 climax species found, Campomanesia xanthocarpa (Mart.)O.Berg.and Tabernaemontana fuchsiaefolia A. DC.Miers, are representative in the Western of Paraná, having a large number of individuals in the studied area, being recommended for its enrichment due to attract the fauna.
One such example is Campomanesia xanthocarpa, or guabiroba, a deciduous, heliophyte, and selective hygrophyte species.It has been classified as a secondary initial (VACCARO et al., 1999;LONGHI and BRENA, 1999), late secondary (DIAS et al., 1998), or shadetolerant climactic species (LORENZI, 2002;PINTO, et al. 2005).Its area of occurrence comprises the states of Minas Gerais, São Paulo, and Mato Grosso do Sul down to Rio Grande do Sul; it is very abundant in the humid regions of montane forests, such as semideciduous forests and pine forests (BRITEZ et al., 1992), and is very common in the Latifoliate Semideciduous Forest of the Paraná River Basin (LORENZI, 2002).Due to its abundant fructification, its fruit is consumed by several bird species and constitutes the favorite food of some Psittacidae such as parrots, in addition to other wild animals (CARVALHO, 2003;NERI et al., 2005).It thrives on well-drained river banks, providing excellent food for fish (MAIXNER;FERREIRA, 1976).It is also one of the species in Subtropical Ombrophilous Forests with the highest deposition of litter and macronutrients, with great importance in the forest structure (BRITEZ et al., 1992).
Another example is Tabernaemontana fuchsiaefolia, known as leiteiro or forquilheira, an evergreen, heliophyte, pioneer plant typical of the semideciduous forest of the São Paulo Plateau (LORENZI, 2002).It occurs in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Paraná, especially in Seasonal Semideciduous Forests.It has been classified as a climactic species by Carpanezzi and Carpanezzi (2006); nevertheless, its presence in the initial stages of the ecological succession has been demonstrated, suggesting that it is a pioneer or an initial secondary plant.Its fruit is much appreciated by the avifauna, which eat the red arillus that involves the seeds, and it is important in the composition of heterogeneous reforestations planned for the degraded Permanent Preservation Areas recovery.Coan et al. (2002) and Rosa (2003) suggests that leiteiro is indicated for the revegetation of degraded areas because the species is native to the Atlantic Rainforest and is attractive to birds that promote its dispersal.
Currently, degraded area recovery programs use native tree species almost exclusively.However, little knowledge is available on the most indicated species for local reforestation, especially in areas that are little known floristically, such as Western Paraná.Among other factors, this leads to the use of exotic species, favoring local biological contamination and increasing degradation (REIS et al., 2003).
The sampled areas are characterized by the presence of Seasonal Semidecidual Forests and Subtropical Ombrophilous Forests and it includes transition areas between them.The confirmed occurrence of these native species in the areas allows their use in reforestation projects in the region, with no risk of biological contamination (ZILER, 2007).
Despite the great number of species presented here for the region, these data are mentioned only for the species present in the revised literature, as well as in studies on the above-mentioned herbaria.Considering the history of the agricultural exploration and the increasing demand of the listed species for the reforestation of the region, an initial list is necessary.However, the Western Paraná region requires floristic studies and new surveys in these areas, the real number of native species probably will be even greater than the value represented here.

CONCLUSION
Pioneer species stand out because of their ruggedness, aggressiveness, and pioneer character, which are extremely important in the initial stage of the recovery process, since their inclusion makes the environment more favorable for the development of secondary and climactic species.One example of pioneer plant is Schinus terebinthifolius.In addition to the characteristics mentioned above, its fruit is frequently consumed by the fauna, as well as the fruit of Croton urucurana.Another important characteristic that should be emphasized is the ability to withstand the intense cold that occurs during winter in that region.The pioneer species Croton urucurana and Calliandra brevipes, as well as the secondary species Luehea divaricata should be highlighted with regard to this trait.
Traits that favor zoochory are indicated as being important inasmuch as they help seed dispersal and facilitate the nucleation process, accelerating recovery of the area.The pollen, nectar, and fruit of the secondary

Table 1 -
Native species in the Western region of Paraná selected for degraded area recovery (Nomenclature updated according to APGIII (2009).