Orchidaceae in a fragment of restinga on the north coast of Bahia, Brazil

Abstract

Área de Proteção Ambiental das Lagoas e Dunas do Abaeté (APA Abaeté) is an urban fragment of restinga in an environmentally protected area in the municipality of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. The area is impacted by irregular disposal of solid waste, clandestine removal of sand from dunes, suppression and fragmentation of original vegetation cover and urban growth of neighborhoods. A recent floristic study revealed new records of orchid species for this conservation unit but highlighted strong threats to the orchid flora. In this context, a taxonomic study of Orchidaceae in APA Abaeté was undertaken with the aim of facilitating the recognition of species in the field and supporting the establishment of more effective local conservation actions for orchids, which should include the manual dispersion of seeds and the relocation of individuals. Orchidaceae is the sixth most represented family in APA Abaeté, with 15 genera and 19 species, including Encyclia dichroma and Koellensteinia florida, endemic species of the Atlantic Forest. The most relevant morphological characteristics for the identification of species in the area are: growth type; climbing habit; caulome thickness; shape and consistency of leaf blades; inflorescence type and position; and color and resupination of flowers.

Orchidaceae in the Parque Natural Municipal da Restinga de Praia do Forte, Bahia, Brazil

“…The accepted name and threat categories of the species are in line with Flora e Funga do Brasil (FFB, 2023). The geographic distribution of species was based primarily on the studies of authors who contributed to Flora and Funga do Brasil (FFB, 2023) and complemented with relevant literature (Barberena et al, 2019b;Karremans et al, 2020;Barberena et al, 2021), and with data obtained from POWO ( 2023) for species with extra-Brazilian distributions. We adopted the ecological categories proposed by Benzing (1990) for the epiphytic species, and elaborated a map of the area using QGIS software v. 3.30 (QGIS, 2023).…”

“…Distribution: northeastern and southeastern Brazil (Barberena et al, 2021;Meneguzzo, 2023c). In PNMR Praia do Forte, Pachygenium parvum occurs in shrub and restinga forest formations, and has a population of less than 50 individuals.…”

“…Nevertheless, the orchidological flora of the remainder of the Atlantic Forest in Bahia, which today is reduced to just 6% of the state's area (originally corresponding to 36%; MPEB, 2023), requires greater conservation attention. The presence of species, including ornamental ones, which are restricted to microhabitats or forming small populations, being subject to local suppression, was reported for a fragment of restinga in the municipality of Salvador, capital of the state (Barberena et al, 2019a(Barberena et al, , 2021.…”