Composição florística, estrutura e diversidade de espécies Arbóreas no Parque Estadual Mata do Krambeck, Juiz de Fora, MG

Abstract

This study was conducted in the Mata do Krambeck State Park (PEMK), a Integral Protection of Conservation Unit (UC), created in 2022, which stands out in the Zona da Mata of Minas Gerais, in the southeast of the country, as it is considered the largest urban green area in the municipality of Juiz de Fora, with 292 hectares and an integral part of a continuous Atlantic Forest corridor of around 512 ha. In the state of Minas Gerais, the UC occupies second place in the ranking, among the Parks located in phytogeographic domain of the Atlantic Forest with an urban area, with a percentage of 98.24% natural cover. It is important to point out that, since 1993, this EPA has been a Sustainable Use APA (Environmental Protection Area), created by State Law, and therefore already had the State Forestry Institute since then as its management body. Therefore, the aim of this work was to learn more about the floristic composition of the PEMK, in order to contextualize its phytosociological and floristic elements to support its institutional mission of protecting biodiversity, as well as contributing to the expansion of botanical knowledge of this important urban forest remnant. Botanical material was collected every two weeks between August 2022 and May 2023, and deposited and analyzed in the CESJ/ Federal University of Juiz de Fora (UFJF) Herbarium collection. A total of 373 species were recorded, distributed among 230 genders and 89 families of vascular plants. The richest families were Rubiaceae (22 spp.), Fabaceae (20 spp.), Melastomataceae (18 spp.), Asteraceae (18 spp.), Lauraceae (17 spp.) and Solanaceae (16 spp.). Among the habits, 176 species are trees (47%), 105 herbs (28%), 66 shrubs (18%), 23 lianas (6%) and 3 palms (1%). Among the tree species, the families Fabaceae (20 spp.), Lauraceae (18 spp.), Melastomataceae (14 spp.) and Myrtaceae (12 spp.) stand out as having the greatest richness. Among the shrubs, the Rubiaceae family (13 spp.) stands out, followed by Piperaceae (11 spp.) and Malvaceae (10 spp.) as the richest in species. Seven species have some degree of "endangered"(Ocotea odorifera and Virola bicuhyba) or "vulnerable"(Apuleia leiocarpa, Cedrela fissilis, Dalbergia nigra, Euterpe edulis, Xylopia brasiliensis and Zeyheria tuberculosa). The Jaccard (0.8988) and Morisita-Horn (0.8525) indices reveal moderate to high similarity in species density between the plots. The presence of a wide variety of species, together with the high similarity between the plots, highlights the relevance of this ecosystem for the conservation of the regional flora. The Shannon diversity index (H') found was 4.19 nats ind-1 and the Pielou equability index was 0.74, indicating the existence of ecological dominance in the community studied. The floristic composition showed floristic regionalism on both a local and regional scale. The high species richness, the particularities found and the location in the middle of an urban matrix highlight the importance of the UC for biodiversity conservation and as an ecological corridor in the Serra da Mantiqueira, thus justifying the creation of a Full Protection Conservation Area to replace the Sustainable Use Conservation Area.