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Vegetation composition and structure of some Neotropical mountain grasslands in Brazil

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Abstract

The description and understanding of plant communities is fundamental for the implementation of conservation or restoration programs, especially when these communities are highly threatened and need to be restored. Campos rupestres, some Neotropical mountain grasslands located in central Brazil and part of the Cerrado biome (covering 2 million km2) host unique plant communities, currently threatened by quarrying and mining. The grassy matrix of campos rupestres, has long been considered a rich mosaic under the control of local topography and the nature of substrate, but this affirmation has not been well studied. We analyzed whether plant communities varied in relation to edaphic factors within the stony substrate and the sandy substrate of this grassy matrix. We selected 5 sites where occur both grasslands on stony substrate and on sandy substrate, and we carried out vegetation surveys and soil analyses. We counted 222 plant species within our communities, among which 38.6% are exclusively found on campos rupestres. Our results show that both soil-types are strongly acidic, nutrient poor and exhibit a seasonal variation. Phosphorus increases and pH and organic carbon decrease during the dry season. Stony soils are slightly richer in nutrients than sandy soils and differences in soil granulometry and composition have led to the formation of distinct plant communities. Some species are confined to either one or the other grassland-type, which makes the plant composition of each community unique. Variations in edaphic factors generate heterogeneous grasslands favorable to a high plant diversity. Conservation programs and restoration actions have to maintain or recreate this heterogeneity. The presence of distinct plant communities implies that different strategies might be adopted to improve the restoration of these ecosystems.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, Université de Liège, Biodiversité et paysage, Passage des Déportés, 2, 5030, Gembloux, Belgium

    Soizig Le Stradic

  2. Institut Méditerranéen de Biodiversité et d’Ecologie marine et continentale (IMBE), Université d’Avignon et des Pays de Vaucluse, UMR CNRS IRD Aix Marseille Université, IUT site Agroparc, BP 61207, F-84911, Avignon cedex 09, France

    Soizig Le Stradic & Elise Buisson

  3. Ecologia Evolutiva & Biodiversidade/Instituto de Ciências Biolôgicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, 30161-970, Belo Horizonte, MG, CP 486, Brazil

    G. Wilson Fernandes

  4. Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA

    G. Wilson Fernandes

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  1. Soizig Le Stradic
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  2. Elise Buisson
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Correspondence to Soizig Le Stradic.

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Le Stradic, S., Buisson, E. & Fernandes, G.W. Vegetation composition and structure of some Neotropical mountain grasslands in Brazil. J. Mt. Sci. 12, 864–877 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-013-2866-3

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