Florística de mata ciliar em São Martinho da Serra, RS, Brasil

Abstract

Riparian forests are plant formations associated with environments with water courses, valued, mostly, for the role of stabilizing riverbanks and allow species gene flow. This work aims to survey the flora of herbaceous stratum and woody stratum and its natural regeneration in a riparian forest in the municipality of São Martinho da Serra, RS,transition region between Pampa and Atlantic Forest biomes. The study area comprises a fragment of 3ha of Deciduous Forest on the Guassupi riverside and this area is threatened by construction of a dam. The survey of the woody stratum was conducted between November 2012 and February 2013, in 19 transects perpendicular to the river. Forty seven species were identified belonging to 24 families, with emphasis in Myrtaceae with nine species, followed by Fabaceae, with five, Euphorbiaceae and Rutaceae, with four. Podocarpus lambertii Klotzsch ex Endl was the most frequent species, besides this, typical species of riparian environment were found, such as Blepharocalyx salicifolius (Kunth) O. Berg., Campomanesia xanthocarpa (Mart.) O.Berg, Calyptranthes concinna DC., Eugenia uniflora L., Allophylus edulis (A. St.-Hil.et al.) Hieron. ex Niederl. , Zanthoxylum rhoifolium Lam., Cupania vernalis Cambess. and Casearia sylvestris Sw At the herb stratum, the survey was conducted on random walks between November 2012 to August 2013, and 28 species were identified belonging to 16 families. Poaceae and Asteraceae families were the richest, with five species each. Another highlight for this stratum was collecting Oxalis subvillosa Norlind, considered a new record for the Rio Grande do Sul state. The survey of natural regeneration, also in 19 transects, revealed the presence of 28 species and 17 families, with Myrtaceae, Fabaceae and Euphorbiaceae with the greatest richness, with five, four and three species respectively. Miconia hyemalis A. St.- Hil. & Naudin was the most frequent species. Five species are listed as vulnerable on the list of endangered species in the state: Apuleia leiocarpa (Vogel) J.F.Macbr., Myrocarpus frondosus Allemão, Chamissoa acuminata Mart., Pfaffia glomerata (Spreng.) Pedersen and Smallanthus conatus (Spreng.) H. Rob. All the species identified in the study are native , revealing that the forest is well preserved .