Herbaceous of Caatinga: floristic composition, phytosociology and survival strategies in a plant community

Abstract

The importance of the herbaceous component to balance and maintain the Caatinga vegetation is still not evident. Given this context, it is evident the necessity of work aimed at contributing to the ecological knowledge of herbaceous vegetation. In this paper we present a floristic and phytosociological community herbaceous between two seasons (wet and dry) in a fragment of Caatinga located at Porto da Folha City, Sergipe. Sampling was conducted on 25 plots, with 1 x 1 m (1 m²). We analyzed the floristic composition, the phytosociological structure, diversity and Raunkiaer’s life-forms. We identified 153 species, distributed in 112 genera and 48 families. The families richest in species were Euphorbiaceae, Fabaceae, Asteraceae, Malvaceae, Bromeliaceae, Convolvulaceae, Lamiaceae and Acanthaceae. The density, frequency, dominance and importance value of herbaceous populations, as well as height and diameter of plants were low in the dry season. The life-form predominant of vegetation was the therophytes, followed by phanerophytes, featuring a therophytic-phanerophytic phytoclimate to the region of the study area.