Abstract

BELFORT, Luciana; NASCIMENTO, Flávia Raquel Fernandes do  and  BEZERRA DE ALMEIDA JR., Eduardo. Distribution and structure of woody species in an ecotonal restinga on the Amazon coast of Maranháo state, Brazil. Bol. Soc. Argent. Bot. [online]. 2021, vol.56, n.4, pp.560-574. ISSN 1851-2372.  http://dx.doi.org/10.31055/1851.2372.v56.n4.32900.

Background and aims: Restinga vegetation is an ecosystem that extends along the coast of Brazil in several extensions, with phytophysiognomies composed of strata varying from herbaceous to arboreal. The objective of this work was to analyze the structural arrangement, the diversity and distribution of the woody community of an ecotonal restinga on the coast of Maranhao, Northeast Brazi

M&M: For sampling the vegetation, the method of points-quadrants (50 points) was used, whose inclusión criteria was Perimeter at Ground Height > 10cm. Phytosociological parameters, community structure and phytogeographic distribution pattern were analyzed.

Results: The sampling resulted in 22 species, 18 genera and 14 families. The most representative families were Myrtaceae, Arecaceae, Fabaceae, Ochnaceae, Polygonaceae e Rubiaceae. The species with the highest Importance Values (IV) were Astrocaryum vulgare (20,36%), Attalea speciosa (19,40%), Himatanthus drasticus (14,72%), Chamaecrista ramosa (10,68%), and Eugenia biflora (10,27%). The Shannon's diversity index was 2,401 nat.ind-1 and Pielou's equality was 0,749. The pattern of local distribution showed that the species are randomly distributed.

Conclusions: The structure and dynamics of the ecotonal restinga between the Amazon and Northeastern coastlines indicate that the area has richness and diversity of species with values similar to the restingas of the northeast, highlighting the need for protection and valuation of plants in restinga areas.

Keywords : Importance value, Maranhao state; Northeast of Brazil, phytosociology.