FLORISTIC COMPOSITION AND PHYTOGEOGRAPHY CONTEXTUALIZATION OF THE NATURAL REGENERATION OF AN ALLUVIAL FOREST LOCATED IN THE "PLANALTO SUL CATARINENSE" REGION, SC, BRAZIL

ABSTRACT This study aimed at inventorying the natural regeneration of tree species in an Alluvial Araucaria Forest in the "Planalto Sul Catarinense" region, SC, Brazil; evaluating the dissimilarity between its adult and regenerative components; and verifying the natural regeneration floristic sharing among its different fragments. The regenerative component has been sampled and identified within 48 plots and classified according to the following height classes: Class 1, plants with height varying from 15 cm up to 1 m; Class 2, plants with height varying from 1 and 3 m; and Class 3, plants with height higher than 3 m and DBH (diameter at breast height) smaller than 5 cm. The floristic composition of adult individuals in the area and of regenerative individuals from other fragments has been obtained from the database of the Laboratory of Dendrology of CAV/UDESC. The structure of the regeneration was evaluated by phytosociological descriptors. Dissimilarity between the adult and the regenerative components has been determined by Jaccard, Sorensen and Bray-Curtis distances. The regeneration floristic sharing analysis of different areas was conducted by a dendrogram. A total of 818 individuals belonging to 59 species have been sampled, being Allophylus edulis (A.St.-Hil. et al.) Hieron. ex Niederl. the species with the greatest relative importance. Elevated similarity between the regenerative and adult components have been observed (from 0.24 to 0.43), suggesting a low floristic-structural turnover between components. The area under study have shown a greater floristic connection (<40% of dissimilarity) with other spatially close fragments, indicating that altitude and temperature are important ecological factors for its phyto-geographic compartmentalization.