Marta Maria de Almeida Souza

Variação temporal da estrutura dos bosques de mangue de Suape-PE após a construção do porto

To monitor the impact of the Suape (PE, Brazil) port construction on the vegetation structure of the mangroves of the area, data from 1988 and 1995 were compared, using six little disturbed sites (LD), four sites undergoing selective logging (SL), three old regeneration sites (OR) and two new regeneration sites (NR). Six plots 10 x 10m were established in each site, all plants found in those in plots had for their height and stem diameter measured. Four species were found without a well defined distribution pattern: Rhizophora mangle L., Laguncularia racemosa (L.) Gaertn., Avicennia schauerianna Stapf. & Leechman and Avicennia germinans L. Conocarpus erecta L. was present in the mangrove - sand coastal transition area. The species distribution showed no marked change between 1988 and 1995 and no differences related to disturbance situation. LD sites had a large structural diversity (density, 917-5683 plant/ha; basal area, 12.7-60.8m2/ha; average and maximum diameter, 5.6-22.4 and 12-36 cm; average and maximum height, 6.7-16.3 and 10-18m) and their changes during the period indicate that selective cutting had occurred, but no signs of that could be detected. Without periodical monitoring, they would not provide an adequate reference pattern. SL sites had visible logging marks and decreases in the densities of plants with diameter > 10cm and in basal areas. Regeneration sites after flooding or filling up with earth, before (OR) and after 1988 (NR), had height, diameter and basal area lower than those of LD and SL, but OR had the highest density (7150-11850 plant/ha). Therefore, 8 years were not enough for recovery.

Medicinal Plants: versatility and concordance of use in the caatinga area, Northeastern Brazil

This study aims to investigate the diversity of native medicinal plants in a caatinga area, verifying the versatility of species and concordance of use among the informants, in the Angico de Cima community, in the city of Aurora, Ceará, Brazil. Ethnobotanical data were obtained through semi-structured interviews with key informants, adopting the snowball technique. The Relative Importance (RI) and Consensus Factor among Informants (ICF) were analyzed to indicate the most versatile species with the highest agreement of use, respectively. Within the 35 registered native species, eight presented great versatility, with a RI> 1, standing out Ziziphus joazeiro Mart. (1.86) and Heliotropium indicum (L.) Lehm (1.67). The 60 therapeutic indications were grouped into 13 body systems categories, of which Genitourinary System Disorder and Nervous, had the highest agreement of use with ICF from 0.8, each. Some species, such as Heliotropium indicum, have a high RI, are scarcely indicated for therapeutic activities in caatinga and require studies that prove their medicinal properties.

Conservation priorities for medicinal woody species in a cerrado area in the Chapada do Araripe, northeastern Brazil

Current ethnobiological studies can offer positive aspects when they include the knowledge of traditional communities in developing different strategies for biodiversity conservation. This study aimed to classify medicinal woody species for priority conservation site in an area of cerrado disjoint in Chapada do Araripe, northeastern Brazil. The availability of woody medicinal plants and conservation priority scores were achieved by the relative density of the sampled forest fragment and ethnobotanical information obtained through semi-structured interviews with 50 local informants. Sixty-one woody medicinal plants were recorded, belonging to 26 families and 59 genera; 29 of these were available and have the use of bark and inner stem bark associated (46.6%). Himatanthus drasticus (Mart.) Plumel, Caryocar coriaceum Wittm., Ximenia americana L., Croton zehntneri Pax & K. Hoffm., Hymenaea courbaril L., Copaifera lansdorfii Desf., Sideroxylon obtusifolium (Roem. & Schult.) T.D.Penn., Anacardium ocidentale L. and Dimorphandra gardneriana Tull. are some of the priority species needing attention in carrying out conservation measures, in order to ensure the perpetuation of these species and the sustainability of traditional therapeutics practices.

ESTRUTURA DOS MANGUES EM ÁREAS POUCO ANTROPIZADAS

A flora e a estrutura da vegetacao de mangue de cinco locais pouco antropizados (PA), tres locais em viveiros de camarao desativados ha 13 anos (V13) e quatro em salinas desativadas ha 23 anos, duas delas assoreadas (A23) e duas nao (NA23), no rio Pacoti, CE, foram comparadas, dividindo-se as plantas em tres categorias: <1 m de altura, ³1 m e <1,5 m; e ³1,5 m. A composicao floristica nao variou entre locais pouco antropizados e em regeneracao, sendo representada por Rhizophora mangle , Avicennia germinans , Avicennia schaueriana , Laguncularia racemosa e Conocarpus erectus . A categoria intermediaria contribuiu pouco e foi somada a das plantas maiores. V13 apresentou caracteristicas de um mangue em desenvolvimento, com densidade maior de plantas ³1 m (9066 ind. ha -1 ) e de plantas <1 m (103 ind/m 2 ), area basal menor (7,1 m 2 ha -1 e dominância de L. racemosa , comparado com PA (4383 ind. ha -1 , 6 ind/m 2 e 25 m 2 ha -1 ), dominadas por R. mangle . Nas NA23, tambem dominadas por R. mangle , os valores foram semelhantes aos de PA (5050 ind. ha -1 , 10 ind/m 2 e 22 m 2 ha -1 ), enquanto em A23 o bosque apresentava-se com maior densidade (5766 ind. ha -1 e 10 ind/m 2 ), muito menos desenvolvido (5 m 2 ha -1 ), e dominado por L. racemosa A estrutura dos mangues em regeneracao ha 23 anos nos locais nao assoreados indica que este tempo pode ser suficiente para a regeneracao em manguezais como o do rio Pacoti.