High-altitude grasslands (campos de altitude) on the Serra do MarMountain in Southern Brazil: floristic aspects

Abstract

The floristic of high-altitude grasslands (campos de altitude) of the “Serra do Mar” in the state of Parana was studied. In a total of six investigated areas, 280 vascular species were detected. They belong to 73 botanic families, in which 63 are angiosperms (260 species), 8 are pteridophytes (18 species) and 2 are gymnosperms. Asteraceae was the richest family, with 44 species (15.7% of the total), followed by Poaceae (31; 11%), Melastomataceae (17; 6%) and Cyperaceae (16; 5.7%). The Serra do Ibitiraquire presents the largest area of “campos de altitude” and the highest richness of species (224 species). Serra da Pedra Branca do Araraquara presents the lowest number of species (71 species) probably due to the smallest grassland area. Only 17 species (6%) were found on the six sites and 137 species (49%) were detected on just one site. A moderate negative correlation was observed between floristic similarity and the geographic distance among the high-altitude grassland areas. The biological contamination (mostly by Pinus sp.), the human inadequate behavior in mountain environments and telecommunication facilities are the most important threats to the high-altitude grassland in Paraná.