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Composition and diversity patterns of terrestrial herb communities in old-growth and secondary South Brazilian Atlantic Forest

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Abstract

The conversion of old-growth into secondary forest changes profoundly the community structure of most plant life-forms, including the communities of terrestrial herbs. Here, we verify how herb communities are affected by environmental variables of old-growth and secondary stands of South Brazilian Atlantic Forest. We identified all herbaceous species and estimated their frequency and cover in 16 plots of 6 × 6 m in each forest type. We used the structural characteristics of the tree component (i.e., basal area, density, average height and canopy openness) and soil parameters as environmental variables of each forest. Results showed that old-growth and secondary forests have distinct herb composition, with the later showing higher plant cover and species diversity. Canopy openness and soil parameters explained part of the variation in herb composition between forests. Herb cover and richness responded positively to soil fertility in both forests, and in secondary forest these two descriptors were also positively correlated with canopy openness. The abiotic differences between forests allowed the establishment of herbaceous species with different ecological requirements, especially in the secondary forest, marked by input of species typically found in disturbed environments. These species contribute to the higher cover values and species richness in secondary forest. Our findings suggest that changes in environmental conditions in a forest substantially change the herb community. Because of their importance as environmental indicators, herb communities can contribute to a better understanding of successional patterns in the Atlantic Forest.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the team of Plant Ecology and Plant Geography Lab of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) for many useful comments. We are grateful to Fábio H. Llanos, João A. B. Vitto, Vander J. Bertoldo Filho and Vanessa Bernardo for field support and assistance and Michelle H. Nervo, Rosana M. Senna, Pedro J. S. Silva Filho, Ilsi I. Boldrini, Eduardo Pasini and Frediny B. Colla for helping in species identification. We also thank Santa Catarina Environmental Foundation (FATMA) for authorizing our access to the Serra Furada State Park, and Foundation to Support Research and Innovation of Santa Catarina (FAPESC) and Brazilian Research Council (CNPq) for financial support, the later for a grant to the first author during the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Botânica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil

    Ronaldo dos Santos-Junior

  2. Herbário Pe. Dr. Raulino Reitz, Universidade do Extremo Sul Catarinense, Criciúma, SC, Brazil

    Vanilde Citadini-Zanette, Robson dos Santos, Peterson Teodoro Padilha, San Zatta Custódio & Lislaine Cardoso de Oliveira

  3. Departamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil

    Jorge Luiz Waechter

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  1. Ronaldo dos Santos-Junior
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  2. Vanilde Citadini-Zanette
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Correspondence to Ronaldo dos Santos-Junior.

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dos Santos-Junior, R., Citadini-Zanette, V., dos Santos, R. et al. Composition and diversity patterns of terrestrial herb communities in old-growth and secondary South Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Braz. J. Bot 40, 951–961 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40415-017-0411-2

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