Woody Plant Species Richness in the Turvo State Park, a Large Remnant of Deciduous Atlantic Forest, Brazil
This paper presents a quantitative inventory of woody plants with DBH ≥ 5 cm in Turvo State park, a large remnant (17,500 ha) of seasonal deciduous Atlantic forest in Southern Brazil. The forest inventory was based on 141 sampling points (point centered quarter method). Seventy-eight species from 37 families were recorded, the density was 879 plants ha−1 and the basal area 25.12 m2 ha−1. Timber species of commercial value made up 35% of the species and 72% of the basal area. The ten most abundant species made up 52% of the species, and the ten species with highest basal area accounted for 48% of the total basal area and 12% of the species. Zoochory was the dominant mode of seed dispersal, representing 63% of species and 67% of the plant density. Nine percent of the species were pioneers, 56% were secondary species accounting for 62% of the total basal area, and 35% were opportunistic-climax species accounting for 54% of the plant density. Turvo park has exceptionally high biodiversity and is the last intact large remnant of the Alto-Uruguai river ecosystem. In addition to species richness and an abundance of high value timber species, this forest is of value for the rich genetic resources, and for medicinal and ornamental plants.