Flora of Brazilian humid Chaco: composition and reproductive phenology

Abstract

We present the floristic composition and reproductive phenological data for a remnant of Arborized Stepic Savanna, vegetation type of humid Chaco, Porto Murtinho, Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil. We recorded 87 species of 31 families; Leguminosae presented the highest richness (14 species), followed by Malvaceae (9), Cactaceae (7) and Asteraceae (7). The herbaceous layer is relevant in the seasonal studied community (53.5% of the species) and there is predominance of non-perennial species (hemicryptophytes and therophytes), which demonstrate the importance of underground structures or seed banks in the vegetation. The community has continual flowering and fruiting with highest intensity in the rainy season, the most favorable period for plant growth and reproduction. The predominance of autochoric species in relation to anemochoric and zoochoric ones suggests partial independence of seed/fruit dispersal agents. Zoochorous species predominated in the rainy season, whereas anemochorous and autochorous species were more representative in the dry season.