ARE THE NEOTROPICAL SWAMP FORESTS A DISTINGUISHABLE FOREST TYPE? PATTERNS FROM SOUTHEAST AND SOUTHERN BRAZIL

Abstract

This work synthesises information about plant diversity of 37 sites of coastal and inland swamp forests of southeast and southern Brazil and investigates floristic similarities and differences among them. Swamp forests often show low species richness, diversity and evenness, which are associated with the selective character of oxygen deprivation caused by soil waterlogging. However, our results pointed out some degree of site-level variation (Sobs = 5 to 110; Sjack1 = 6 to 151; H′ = 0.82 to 3.98; J′ = 0.51 to 0.87) related to local ecological conditions. Two major phytogeographical patterns emerged from our work: the strong influence of the neighbouring non-flooded vegetation on the flora of swamp forests and its high spatial heterogeneity. At least 85.9% of the 518 species sampled are found in neighbouring non-flooded vegetation. A correspondence analysis consistently separated swamp forests of the coastal plain from those of the plateau. A Mantel test indicated a significant correlation between floristic and geographical distances among sites (r = 0.45; p = 0.001), and highlighted the main effect of regional-scale changes in the flora of swamp forests. We conclude that swamp forests of southeast and southern Brazil cannot be considered a distinguishable floristic unit.