Aquatic vascular plants of South Brazil: checklist and a comparative floristic approach

Aquatic ecosystems support species diversity, and knowledge of plant communities is essential for wetland conservation programs. This study provides a checklist of aquatic vascular plants of South Brazil and establishes their floristic affinities with bordering South America phytogeographical domain...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Oliveira, Lukiel dos Santos, Andrade, Bianca Ott, Boldrini, Ilsi Iob, Moço, Maria Cecília de Chiara
Formato: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2019
País:Brasil
Recursos:Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS)
Repositorio:Repositório Institucional da UFRGS
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:www.lume.ufrgs.br:10183/221500
Acesso em linha:http://hdl.handle.net/10183/221500
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:Florística
Macrófitas
Pantanos
Floristic
Macrophyte distribution
Plant diversity
Species diversity
Wetland conservation
Descrição
Resumo:Aquatic ecosystems support species diversity, and knowledge of plant communities is essential for wetland conservation programs. This study provides a checklist of aquatic vascular plants of South Brazil and establishes their floristic affinities with bordering South America phytogeographical domains. The checklist was based on 52 sources, including 35 floristic lists, 17 regional taxonomic studies, and information from an electronic database on wetlands of South Brazil. Floristic similarities with published checklists for neighbouring regions were assessed. A total of 780 species distributed in 277 genera and 85 families of vascular plants were reported for South Brazil. Families with higher species richness were Cyperaceae (128), Poaceae (102), Asteraceae (69), Plantaginaceae (21), Lentibulariaceae (20), and Onagraceae (20). The most represented genera were Eleocharis (41) and Cyperus (24). A cluster analysis revealed high similarity with Iberá (Argentinian Chaco), Pampa and Atlantic Forest, and low similarity with Pantanal, Caatinga and the Amazon Rainforest. The high number of aquatic plant families recorded relative to temperate and tropical climates suggests a zone of biogeographical overlap in Southern Brazil. The compiled data set reveals high biodiversity of wetlands of South Brazil, provides a baseline for future research, and highlights the need for regional conservation planning.