ABSTRACT
The Brazilian Chaco is situated in the west edge of the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, occupying around 7% of the Nabileque sub-region of the Pantanal. The objectives of this work were to do a floristic survey of the tree species occurring in the Chaco of Porto Murtinho and to describe the types of fruits and the occurrence and distribution of the dispersal syndromes. A total of 24 families, 40 genera and 49 species were found in the area. The family with highest species diversity was Leguminosae (21 spp.), followed by Bignoniaceae (3 spp.), Anacardiaceae, Myrtaceae and Sapindaceae (2 spp. each). The predominant types of fruit were capsules, legumes and drupe. Zoochory (52%) was the predominant dispersion syndrome, followed by anemochory (26%) and autochory (22%). The arboreal stratum was particularly dependent on animals for their dispersal. Dependence on animals for the transport of fruits and seeds can result in gaps in its dispersion when dispersal agents become rare or extinct. This highlights the need for protection of remaining with Brazilian Chaquenian formations.
Key words:
Chacoquenian formations; forest fragment; dispersion; fruits; seed