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Phytosociological studies in a remnant lowland forest on tertiary "tabuleiros" in the north Rio de Janeiro State

The forests on Barreiras formations are located in fragmented areas extending from the Rio Grande do Norte State to north of Rio de Janeiro State. In the north of Rio de Janeiro State, the "Mata do Carvão" (1053 ha) is the largest remaining fragment. This study describes the structure and floristic composition of a remnant forest on tertiary tabuleiros and its main aim was to compare this forest with other "tabuleiro" and Atlantic forest remnants in the region. To carry out the inventory, four plots of 50 x 50 m were allocated in a selected area without vestiges of logging activities or fire. All trees > or = 10 cm DBH were sampled and numbered with aluminium tags. Dead trees were measured but not tagged. A total of 564 trees was sampled being distributed within 34 families. The families with higher number of species were Leguminosae (18), Myrtaceae (8), and Euphorbiaceae (6). The most abundant families were Rutaceae (189), Leguminosae (97) and Euphorbiaceae (47). The species with higher cover index values were Metrodorea brevifolia, Paratecoma peroba and Pseudopiptadenia contorta. Although the "Mata do Carvão" showed lower tree diversity (H’ = 3.21) than those found for other semi-deciduous seasonal forests, it has a high species similarity between the tabuleiro forests of South Bahia and North of Espírito Santo. In the "Mata do Carvão", the occurrence of rare species at risk of extinction (e.g. Paratecoma peroba) was observed. Furthermore, these are new occurrences for the Rio de Janeiro State (Centrolobium sclerophyllum and Polygala pulcherrima).

Atlantic forest; forest fragments; floristic; forest conservation; tabuleiro forest


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