Um estudo da composição florística de samambaias e licófitas em áreas do semiárido do Brasil

Abstract

The distribution of organisms and the composition of communities can be explained by the range of dispersal of species or their adaptations to environmental characteristics. Trying to identify which of these factors is most important in determining the composition of the assemblages of ferns and lycophytes in the semiarid region of Brazil, were studied 19 sample areas with approximately 12,000 m² each, located north of Bahia state, in the municipalities of Sento Sé and Sobradinho, in an area known locally as Boqueirão da Onça. In each sampling area were collected species and environmental data were obtained in altitude, soil type and available habitats (terrestrial, epiphytic, rock and water). The Mantel test was used to correlate the floristic composition with the environmental characteristics and the geographical distance between the areas. Were inventoried 26 species, 23 ferns and three lycophyta, gathered in 14 families and 18 genera, with a minimum of one and maximum of seven species for each sample unit. Unlike the geographic distance, environmental factors were related to species similarity between areas, indicating that, on a local scale, the floristic composition and distribution of ferns and lycophytes in semiarid areas of Brazil was related mainly to the environment characteristics, which are adapted species.