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Pollination and dispersal are critical ecological processes that directly affect the reproductive success of plants and are important for understanding the structure of plant communities. We compiled data on pollination and dispersal syndromes of 406 plant species distributed among different elevations in Área de Proteção Ambiental da Serra de Baturité (APASB) in northeastern Brazil. We aim to determine how the dispersal and pollination of the flora in the mountainous rainforest of APASB are affected by climate, relief and growth form. We hypothesized that plant community is comprised of different ecological groups based on biotic and abiotic syndromes. Melittophily was the most common (57%) pollination syndrome followed by non-specialized and ornithophily (7%). We found that 64% of species exhibited zoochory, 19% exhibited anemochory and 17% exhibited autochory. Pollination syndromes differed significantly only between types of growth form. Dispersal syndromes differed between topology, growth form and elevation. Six ecological groups were formed based on the interaction between dispersal-pollination and growth form, with predominantly zoochory in woody and anemochory in non-woody plants. Water availability may be the principal factor responsible for variation among dispersal syndromes. The proportion of ruderal species in the non-woody component explains the differences in syndromes between growth forms.

This study aimed to identify the pollen types of 11 honey samples produced in apiaries of two cities in the State of Bahia, Brazil: Antônio Gonçalves (five samples) and Campo Formoso (six samples); to verify richness and diversity from each apiary and to compare the similarity among them. The samples were obtained from beekeepers according to the period of production and availability. The palynological analysis of these samples followed the standard procedures of melissopalynology with the use of acetolysis. The pollen types occurring in the honey samples were identified and at least 1,000 pollen grains per sample were counted to determine the frequency classes and the frequency of occurrence. Overall, 147 pollen types were detected, of which 143 are distributed in 35 botanical families. The most representative families concerning the number of pollen types were: Fabaceae (33), Asteraceae (18), Euphorbiaceae (11), Anacardiaceae and Malvaceae (09 types each), Rubiaceae (08) and Myrtaceae (07). The average value of pollen types per sample was 28.18. The genus that contributed the most was Mimosa L. (Fabaceae) with eight pollen types detected. The wealth of pollen types found revealed important information about the local flora which is explored by Apis mellifera. Therefore, it becomes an important tool to assist in the preservation and propagation of these plants and, consequently, increasing honey production.

Question: We aimed to analyze how the topography, temperature and rainfall influence the floristic distribution in three different topographic areas and their surrounding vegetation. We addressed three main questions: (i) How is the distribution of species among the topographic areas? (ii) Which abiotic variable is driving this distribution? and (iii) What is the difference among the mountain forests and between mountain forests and the Caatinga vegetation? Location: The Maranguape mountain forest were divided into three topographic categories: windward (600-800 m, WMA), leeward (600-800 m, LMA) and top (above 800 m, TMA). We also considered another six areas of mountain forests and four Caatinga areas in Ceará State. Methods: We calculated different structural parameters and the floristic diversity of each category. A Principal Correspondence Analysis was performed to analyze the indirect ordination of forest sites by species abundance. A Canonical Correspondence Analysis was conducted to evaluate which variables were driving species distribution. We used non-metric multidimensional scaling distance and the average linkage method to investigate the similarity among mountain forests and Caatinga. Results: A total of 1,536 individuals belonging to 144 tree species distributed in 44 families and 93 genera were recorded. Myrtaceae, Fabaceae and Rubiaceae were the most species-rich families. Myrcia splendens had the highest importance value followed by Guapira nitida and Mollinedia ovata. The leeward slope showed the highest richness and diversity index, whereas the windward showed the highest density and the top showed the highest basal area. The ordination indicated a greater similarity between TMA and WMA than LMA. Conclusion: Our results suggest that temperature, precipitation and slope angle are the abiotic factors driving species distribution in Maranguape. Those mountains are heavily anthropized and continuously explored, therefore these outcomes will be useful for conservation and restoration purposes in the poorly known semiarid region of Northeast Brazil.

The amount of deciduous material throughout the year is mostly related to climatic conditions in tropical areas. A large deposition of litterfall in the dry season is described for deciduous and semideciduous forests. We aimed to assess the monthly deposition rate of litterfall during one year and the climatic influence in a deciduous thorny woodland area. The study area had a permanent plot of one hectare. To collect litterfall, 50 plots were selected and a collector (0.5 x 0.5 m) was installed. Samples were collected monthly for twelve months and divided into fractions: leaves, branches, fruits and seeds, flowers and miscellaneous. We tested the correlation of four abiotic factors (rainfall, soil humidity, temperature and wind) and the litter deposition.The annual litterfall collected had a total value of 2,731.6 kg ha-1 .The contribution fraction of leaves corresponded to 54.3%, branches (14.2%), fruits (12.6%), flowers (1.6%) and miscellaneous (17.2%). The wind was the abiotic factor most correlated with the total deposition of the litterfall, but other correlations were found. In this area, site-dependent climatic and edaphic variables have an important control on litterfall.