Climbing plants of a semideciduous seasonal forest remnant in southeastern Brazil

Abstract

Climbing plants play an important role on the dynamics of forest communities and are important as a source of food for wildlife. In this study we characterized these plants in a semideciduous seasonal forest (FES) and produce identification key and photographic plates to help in the identification of the climbing plants. In addition, we evaluate the floristic similarity of the study area with studies in other areas. The floristic survey was carried out during one year, with monthly collections of material at the reproductive stage, through walks at the edges and inside the remnant. We sampled 65 species belonging to 19 families, and six represent 67.7% of the total species sampled: Fabaceae (12), Bignoniaceae (eight), Convolvulaceae (seven), Sapindaceae (six), Asteraceae (six) and Apocynaceae (five). There was predominance of herbaceous climbers, on the edge of the remnant or in the open areas. The most common climbing mechanisms were the voluble and the prehensile (with tendrils). The low similarity found with other areas of FES may be related to small size of the study area and its intermediate succession stage. Nevertheless, 64% of the species are new records for the municipality of Sorocaba, many of them with few records for the state of São Paulo and two of them classified as threatened in the list of threatened species of the state.