Ecology of the Cerrado stricto sensu arborea community to the roadside

ABSTRACT

The construction of highways is a major threat to biodiversity the Cerrado. From the phytosociological analyzes in the non aedificandi ranges, this work evaluated its conservation status of cerrado vegetation near highways. The study was carried out in four regions of Cerrado: northwest (NO-GO), south (S-GO) and southeast of Goiás State (SE-GO), and in the Triângulo Mineiro and Alto do Paranaíba in Minas Gerais (TRI). All tree individuals with C_30cm (circunference measuredat 30 cm of soil height) > 15 cm, present in 100 plots (50 m x 10 m) independently arranged. The survey showed 1663 individuals distributed in 163 species and 44 families. The density for the regions was 504.44, 395, 307.69 and 151.03 ha^-1. The highest similarity on the basis of the Jaccard and Morisita-Horn indices occurred between the TRI and SE-GO areas (0.340 and 0.550), while the lowest values were between the northwest (NO-GO) and south (S-GO) of Goiás State (0.086 and 0.159). Of the species found on the roadsides, 76.3% were also found in conserved areas. The vegetated strips along the highways form small habitats capable of sustaining a diversity similar to that found in natural areas, yet these environments suffer from anthropic disturbances favoring the occurrence of unusual species of that native community.

Keyword
Phytosociology; Anthropization; Protection areas; Non aedificandi ; Savana