Qualitative floristic survey and dispersion syndrome of native species of the cerrado

Abstract

The dispersion of fruits and seeds is one of several biological and physical processes that occur in forests, providing the maintenance of populations of plant species. This process is important for plant reproduction, and the seed dispersal pattern helps in determining the potential recruitment area of the plants and also serves as a basis for subsequent processes, such as competition, predation, and reproduction. The present study was carried out in Chapadão do Sul, MS, in an anthropized savannah area. The floristic survey was carried out using the square plot method, sampling all arboreal individuals with DBH (diameter at breast height = 1.30 m from the ground) ≥ 5 cm, which was inside the plots. Ten plots were marked, measuring 20 m wide by 20 m long, totaling 4,000 m2 sampled. Through this classification, they were related to the species in each plot. Botanical samples were collected from all the individuals sampled, assembling desiccate, and sent to identify them. Individuals belonging to 32 species and 18 botanical families were found. Of the sampled species, 40.63% presented anemochory as a strategy for dispersing their fruits and seeds, 21.88% autochory, and 37.5% zoochory. Although the anemochoric dispersion has a greater number of species, this value is close to the zoochoric dispersion, which may represent an establishment of ecological relationships between local flora and fauna.