Publications

Campo rupestre is a kind of Brazilian rocky outcrop with high biodiversity
and many endemic and threatened species. It occurs mainly in the Espinhaço Range in a
contact region between Cerrado and/or Caatinga and Atlantic Forest. The Espinhaço
Range is recognized as a region with the highest floristic diversity in South America and
with many endemic species, most of which are associated with rocky outcrop environments.
These, among other peculiarities, recently granted the Espinhaço Range the
status of Biosphere Reserve. The relationship between soil and vegetation was studied
in campo rupestre areas with quartzite and itabirite rocks. Three habitats in both
lithologies were defined by geomorphology as: 1. Slopes with grasslands; 2. Plateaus
with grasslands and 3. Valleys with woody savannas. In each lithology, 30 plots
(10 × 10 m), 10 in each habitat, were defined. The species and their respective coverage
were recorded and soil was sampled to perform chemical and physical analyses. The
analyzed soils were similar in being sandy, acidic and with low fertility. Nevertheless, they exhibited differences in chemical and physical properties. Altogether there were
272 species, belonging to 70 families. The canonical correspondence analysis of soil
variables and species coverage showed a clear segregation of lithological sites due
mainly to the exchangeable content of Ca, Cu, Mg, Mn and S; soil particle size – central
tendency and sorting; and the percentage of silt, fine soil and bare rocks. A strong
correlation between plant species coverage and soil properties was also found.