Aspectos fitossociológicos e funcionalidade ecológica de plantas de sub-bosque ripário em cachoeiras na Amazônia Central

Abstract

The Amazon biome, the largest reservoir of plant biodiversity on the planet, faces significant challenges due to deforestation and agricultural expansion, resulting in a notable reduction of native vegetation. Many areas remain underexplored, which hinders the mapping and conservation of species. Riparian vegetation, such as riparian forests, is crucial for the protection of water bodies and the maintenance of biodiversity, in addition to playing an important role in seed dispersion. The study of seed dispersion and plant phenology is essential to understand ecological dynamics and ensure the regeneration of populations. Presidente Figueiredo, in the Amazonas, is a region rich in biodiversity but faces pressures from human activities such as unsustainable tourism and deforestation. The study of herbaceous-shrubby vegetation, still underexplored, is crucial for the conservation of the biome. The aim of this research was to investigate the composition of richness, diversity, changes, and similarities between the two studied waterfalls, using phytosociological parameters such as absolute density (DA), relative density (DR), the Shannon Diversity Index, Pielou's Evenness, and Jaccard's Similarity. This analysis provided a detailed characterization of the flora in the study area and allowed an efficient comparison before and after flooding. The research also explored phenological aspects of the vegetation, identifying functional patterns of fruits and their associated dispersing agents.