Vv. Scudeller et al., Distribution and abundance of arboreal species in the atlantic ombrophilous dense forest in Southeastern Brazil, PLANT ECOL, 152(2), 2001, pp. 185-199
The relative densities of arboreal species of 17 surveys carried out in the
Atlantic Ombrophilous Dense Forest of Sao Paulo state, SE Brazil, were com
pared by means of multivariate analysis (cluster, TWINSPAN, PCA, DCA and CC
A) to assess floristic and structural variation. The arboreal flora of this
vegetation formation is heterogeneous: out of the 771 specific binomials c
ited, 478 were recorded only once. As the results were similar whether thes
e 478 species were included or not, they were therefore excluded from subse
quent analyses. The cluster analysis and TWINSPAN recognised two floristic-
structural groups: Coastal Province and Atlantic Plateau. The DCA resulted
in a gradient related to distance from the sea, from the Coastal Province t
owards the Atlantic Plateau (lambda (1)=0.6944). The CCA confirmed this sep
aration on the first axis (lambda (1)=0.6944; 12.7% of total variance; p <0
.01) and showed this gradient to be associated with altitude and latitude o
n one hand and temperature and precipitation on the other. The influence of
latitude and longitude was weak. Although surveys used different criteria,
only the minimum individual size adopted in sampling showed a weak influen
ce on the second axis on the CCA (lambda (2)=0.4437; 8% of total variance),
and sampling method showed no influence. A positive relationship between g
eographical distance and floristic-structural dissimilarity was detected by
the Mantel test (Z(obs)=0.320; Z(ave)=0.300; p <0.001). The predominance o
f arboreal species of restricted distribution and the great spatial variati
on of abundance would appear to indicate narrow niches. The occurrence of c
omplex and non-linear gradients suggests the importance of several other ab
iotic features in the spatial distribution and abundance of arboreal specie
s in the Atlantic Ombrophilous Dense Forest in the state of Sao Paulo.