In two forest remnants located in Seasonal Deciduous Atlantic Forest of Alto-Uruguai region of
Southern Brazil, the plots (MP) and point-centered-quarter (MQ) methods were used aiming to characterize
the floristic richness and structural composition. 91 species were identified, 52 of them were classified as
understory species (without timber value), being the most abundant
Sorocea bonplandii
,
Gymnanthes concolor
and
Trichilia claussenii
species. The others were classified as timber species, being the most
abundant
Apuleia leiocarpa
,
Nectandra megapotamica
,
Cabralea canjerana
and
Holocalyx balansae
. The
species of higher density and basal area were practically the same in both forest patches, independently from
the inventory method used. The MP detected a higher number of species diversity as well as the higher value
for plant density by area, comparatively to MQ, although both methods detected different species. The
simultaneous use of MQ and MP resulted in a higher coverage of species diversity in both areas, with a
reduction in time to perform the inventory. In both methods, sampling error above of the expected value was
detected, but the smaller these values, the greater the similarity among the results provided by both methods.
Unfortunately, the species richness occurring in the FED contrasts with the small number of remaining
patches in this ecosystem. It is important to highlight that these patches are the last repositories for seed to be
used in colonizing degraded areas as well as for conservation, improvement and
in situ seed bank program
with native plant species.
