Floristic and structural composition of an herbaceous and shrubby community of Restinga vegetation from Balneário Barra do Sul municipality, Santa Catarina state, Brazil

Abstract

We aimed to evaluate the floristic and structural composition ofan herbaceous Restinga from coastal Balneário Barra do Sul municipality, Santa Catarina state, Brazil. The floristic survey wascarried out following the profiling method, and sampling included all vascular plants in the area. For structural characterization,we used the plotting method and estimated phytosociological parameters. The floristic study revealed 65 species belonging to60 genera and 33 families, two of those species being exotic. The most species-rich families were Asteraceae (nine), Poaceae(nine), Convolvulaceae, and Fabaceae (five, each). The most species-rich genera were Ipomoea (Convolvulaceae), Portulaca(Portulacaceae), and Paspalum (Poaceae). The phytosociological sampling recorded 50 species distributed over 46 genera and 28families. The most diverse families were Asteraceae (nine), Poaceae (eight), and Fabaceae (four). The species with highest coverarea were Ambrosia sp. (Asteraceae), Chenopodium ambrosioides (Amaranthaceae), Paspalum sp. (Poaceae), Scaevola plumieri(Goodeniaceae), and Sesuvium portulacastrum (Aizoaceae), while Panicum racemosum (Poaceae), Hydrocotyle bonariensis(Araliaceae), Ipomoea imperati (Convolvulaceae), and Remirea maritima (Cyperaceae) showed the highest frequency. Shannondiversity index (H’) was 3.22 nats.individual-¹. Diversity in the area was considered average in comparison with other sand duneenvironments in Santa Catarina state. Structurally, the studied Restinga community has species with varying degrees of cover andfrequency. That fact, however, allied to the species morphology and high vegetative reproduction capacity, can provide informationthat supports the selection of species for restoration of degraded Restinga environments in the Santa Catarina coastal plain.