Distribuição e abundância de Arbustos do gênero Piper (Piperaceae) na Reserva Florestal Adolpho Ducke Manaus, Amazonas, Brasil.

Abstract

I studied the structure of communities the genus Piper (PIPERACEAE) in 68 study plots in Reserva Florestal Adolpho Ducke in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil. To analyze the community composition, I ordenated the data indirectly using non-parametric multidimensional scaling (NMDS). The ordination resulted in two axes that explained 78.5% of the variation in abundance data and 74.6% of the variation in presence/absence data. To discover what environmental variables may have generated these patterns, I tested the relationships between inclination, percent clay content, percent area occupied by clearings, and type of drainage basin (clear or black water), in two axes of the ordination using analysis of variance (MANCOVA). I identified 22 species and one morphospecies of Piper in my study plots, from a total of 3,440 numbered individuals. The community structure was significantly affected by soil clay content, altitude and inclination of the terrain. The community on the western side was more strongly affected by soil clay content than the eastern side, for both quantitative and qualitative data.