Structure of herbaceous vegetation in riparian landscapes in Southern Santa Catarina, Brazil

Abstract

The structural and ecological characteristics of herbaceous vegetation make it sensitive to environmental changes, acting as environmental quality indicator. However, studies of the herbaceous community are as yet rare in neotropical regions. This paper describes the floristics and phytosociology of terrestrial herbaceous vegetation in the riparian forest of seven rivers near the town of Urussanga, Southern Santa Catarina, Brazil, and also analyzes and quantifies the status of scientific knowledge related to terrestrial herbaceous vegetation in Brazil. The study selected 320 sampling units of 4 m²; species were identified and related data regarding phytosociological parameters were collected. The sampling discovered 58 taxa, of which 38 belonged to angiosperms and 20 to ferns, distributed in 25 botanical families. Poaceae was the most prevalent with 11 species. Structurally, Goeppertia monophylla (Vell) Borchs and S. Suárez, Blechnum brasiliense Desv and Heliconia farinosa Raddi stood out. The most common form of life was reptant hemicryptophyte. The results indicate a richness of terrestrial herbaceous vegetation adapted to the climatic conditions of a riparian forest, contributing to diversity of the regional flora. Regarding scientific production, 50 papers were found in electronic databases (1990-2015), with 2011 as the year with greatest scientific production regarding terrestrial herbaceous vegetation. Nevertheless, despite the low number of indexed papers found regarding terrestrial herbaceous vegetation, the amount tends to increase due to advancements in database access technology.

Keywords:
Atlantic Rainforest; bibliometrics; biodiversity; floristic; phytosociology.