Lauraceae Along an Altitudinal Gradient in Southern Brazil

Abstract

We performed a phytosociological study on an altitudinal gradient in Lauráceas State Park (Parque Estadual das Lauráceas/PR), aiming to describe the Montane Atlantic Rain Forest, to verify the importance of Lauraceae, and to evaluate the communities' successional stage. We distributed survey units (2,000 m² quadrats) along an altitudinal gradient and surveyed all individuals with DBH ≥ 10 cm, which composed the arboreal component. In smaller quadrats (250 m²), we surveyed regeneration individuals. The community at 800 and 900 m a.s.l. shows typical characteristics of Montane forest in an advanced successional stage, and the abundance of Ocotea catharinensis is its main indicator. At 1,000 and 1,100 m a.s.l., the forest is characterized as Montane with short stature in an advanced successional stage, with the occurrence of typical upper montane species such as O. porosa and O. vaccinioides.

Structure, Biomass and Diversity of a Late-Successional Subtropical Atlantic Forest in Brazil

“…H. alchorneoides, in turn, prepares the environment for S. guianensis, which, along with E. edulis and other shade-tolerant species, prepares the environment for more selective Lauraceae species, such as Ocotea catharinensis, Ocotea odorifera, and Cryptocarya spp. (Klein, 1980;Maçaneiro et al, 2015;Brotto et al, 2019). Klein (1980) observed that at this late successional stage − that is, when H. alchorneoides dominates and S. guianensis begins to appear − several Myrtaceae species join the community, a phenomenon we detected in the study area; this family had the second greatest number of species.…”

“…Klein (1980) stated that O. catharinensis would often represent up to one-third or even half of the growing stock volume of pristine subtropical ERF stands. Accordingly, Brotto et al (2019) found that this species represents ~25% of the total stem volume of a montane ERF remnant within a protected area in the state of Paraná, southern Brazil.…”

“…This forest type is characterized by a canopy composed of numerous tree species, multiple vertical layers, and an abundance of climbers and epiphytes (Roderjan et al, 2002;IBGE, 2012). Regarding tree/shrub species composition, evergreen rainforests have the botanical families Myrtaceae, Fabaceae, Lauraceae, Rubiaceae and Melastomataceae as the most speciose ones (Oliveira-Filho & Fontes, 2000;Lingner et al, 2015;Brotto et al, 2019).…”