Floristic and ecological attributes of Restinga shrub formations in key area for biodiversity conservation, Guarapari, Espírito Santo State, Brazil

ABSTRACT The water table level has been assuming a prominent role in recent years in studies about the structuring of plant communities in Restinga, which led us to compare the floristic and phytosociological structure between flooded and non-flooded open shrubby formations. The floristic survey and line intercept method were conducted in both the phytophysiognomies. For the phytosociological analysis, two plots of 20 × 150 m, which were subdivided into five subplots of 20 × 30 m, were installed in each phytophysiognomym. A total of 147 bushes were evaluated, 49 from the flooded and 98 from the non-flooded formations, representing, on average, areas of 210.78 m2 and 30.45 m2, respectively. The flooded formation showed an average of 4.9 bushes per subplot, while the non-flooded formation showed an average of 9.8. As a total, 100 species from 40 families were found in the two vegetation types, 87 of them in the flooded and 68 in the non-flooded areas. The most representative families were Orchidaceae and Bromeliaceae. We found a high floristic distinction between the vegetation types, suggesting that the water table level affected the structure of plant communities.