More than environmental control at local scales: do spatial processes play an important role in floristic variation in subtropical forests?

Abstract

The effect of environmental variables on the plant species distribution in the Atlantic Forest raises the interest of researchers, but few studies, mainly at local scales, analyzed the influence of spatial factors on the environment and species distribution. Linear models and spatial correlograms were used to evaluate whether environment and space may predict variations in species composition of trees and shrubs in a Subtropical Rainforest remnant. The study area was divided in 25 plots of 400 m², systematically distributed, where individuals with DBH ≥ 5 cm were measured. Elevation and slope were the most important predictors of the floristic variations, but space, generally neglected in researches on South American's vegetation, had a relevant influence, as a structural component, in terms of environmental variables, and as intrinsic biological component, here probably as result of constraints in species dispersion. Although the origin of great part of the variation in species composition remained unknown, which is common in studies on vegetation, results indicated, for the first time, the complex role of spatial and environmental variables in the composition of trees and shrub species in a Subtropical Rainforest of Brazil.