The woody flora in seasonal semideciduous montane dry forest of Pico do Jabre-PB, Brazil

Abstract

Seasonal montane forests are found in a variety of land elevation, climatic conditions, isolation and fragility. This study aims to establish the floristic composition and to assess species contribution from regional woody communities to the Pico do Jabre montane seasonal forest (06° 02’12’’ to 08° 19’18’’ S and 34° 45’12’’ e 38° 45’45’’W). This area contains the highest regional elevation (1197 m) in Northeast Brazil. A survey was carried out during three years, monthly vouchers were incorporated into the University of Paraiba (JPB) herbarium. The floristic list registered 87 species, 65 genera and 34 families. The richest families were Fabaceae (20) (4 Caesalpinoideae, 9 Faboideae and 7 Mimosoideae), Myrtaceae (12), Erythroxylaceae and Euphorbiaceae (5), Solanaceae and Salicaceae (4) and Malvaceae and Sapindaceae (3). The local flora included species found in regional Ombrophylous Montane and Lowland Seasonal Forest communities, several from the neighboring Caatinga as well as some others with large distributions in Brazil, all of which highlight the importance of its preservation.