Vegetation mapping in an area of Ombrophilous Dense Forest at Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar, São Paulo State, Brazil, and floristic composition of the tree component of some physiognomies*

This study aimed to map phytophysiognomies of an area of Ombrophilous Dense Forest at Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar and characterize their floristic composition. Photointerpretation of aerial photographs in scale of 1:35,000 was realized in association with field work. Thirteen physiognomies were mapped and they were classified as Montane Ombrophilous Dense Forest, Alluvial Ombrophilous Dense Forest or Secondary System. Three physiognomies identified at Casa de Pedra streamlet's basin were studied with more details. Riparian forest (RF), valley forest (VF), and hill forest (HF) presented some floristic distinction, as confirmed by Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) and Indicator Species Analysis (ISA) conducted here. Anthropic or natural disturbances and heterogeneity of environmental conditions may be the causes of physiognomic variation in the vegetation of the region. The results presented here may be useful to decisions related to management and conservation of Núcleo Santa Virgínia forests, in general.

The authors would like to acknowledge the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for the scholarship awarded to first author; the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) for the funding for the projects "Composição florística, estrutura e funcionamento da Floresta Ombrófila Densa dos Núcleos Picinguaba e Santa Virgínia do Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar" (Process number 03/12595-7), under coordination of Dr. Carlos Alfredo Joly (IB / UNICAMP) and "O balanço de carbono sobre uma floresta de Mata Atlântica com medidas micrometeorológicas e biométricas" (07/ 57465-4), under the coordination of Dr. Humberto Ribeiro da Rocha (IAG / USP); all colleagues who helped in field work; all taxonomists who helped with the identification of the material collected and to Amanda Catarucci for the help with the initial maps digitization.