Search

AIMS: We offer a first classification of South Brazilian grasslands (Campos Sulinos) based on quantitative vegetation data and describing grassland types in terms of dominant and indicator species. LOCATION: South Brazilian grasslands (Parana, Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul states). METHODS: We described vegetation plots in 167 sampling units throughout the region using a stratified nested design, totalizing 1,502 1 m² quadrats. We classified vegetation using cluster analysis based on Bray–Curtis dissimilarities, establishing three vegetation types and ten subtypes. We conducted indicator species analysis within the resulting subtypes, and for all possible combinations of subtypes. RESULTS: In the cluster analyses, a clear separation of poorly drained grasslands from the drier sites appeared. Further, a clear distinction between grasslands in the South Brazilian highland region, situated in the Atlantic Forest biome, and the grasslands of the Pampa biome, to the south, emerged, reflecting climatic and management differences. Highland grasslands showed lower species cover dominance, while in the Pampa, Paspalum notatum clearly was the most important species and the abundance of exotic species was higher. CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides the first classification of South Brazilian grasslands based on quantitative vegetation data recorded in a standardized sampling design. The data support the division of grasslands into the main phytogeographic units of the region (Brazilian biome classification). Grasslands in these two regions also differ in terms of species dominance pattern (higher dominance in Pampa grasslands, likely also due to higher grazing levels) and in terms of conservation state (low presence of exotic species in highland grasslands). Our results are important for conservation policies, which can now consider the presence of different grassland types in different region, but more data will be necessary for a more detailed classification that considers different abiotic features in more detail.

Eryngium irgangii is a new species from southern Brazil, occurring in Atlantic Rain Forest region and endemic to Aparados da Serra highland in the Serra da Rocinha, on the border between the states of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul. It grows on the edges of cloud forest slopes often under vegetation cover, inhabiting humid rocky ravines with organic matter accumulation. Eryngium irgangii can be distinguished by its oblanceolate distichous leaves, prominent involucre, remarkable capitula with involucral and floral bracts with tridentate apex bearing deflexed setae in the sinuses, and fruits with dorsal face naked or with scales on their ribs; therefore it belongs to subsection Lancifolia within section Panniculata. We present here a morphological description, ecological notes, distribution map, illustrations and photos, conservation status, and diagnostic characters distinguishing E. irgangii from related species.

Species richness remains one of the most valuable type of information for biodiversity conservation. Here, we report a plant richness record in the Brazilian Pampa. We found 56 vascular plant species in a single plot of 1 × 1 m in a privately owned grazed grassland in a region with shallow soils. This number is considerably higher than common species numbers in similar surveys and highlights the high plant diversity in South Brazilian grasslands. We take our record as an opportunity to reflect on some issues of high importance if we wish to reach conservation goals: much of the biodiversity is inside private lands, and these should be more in the focus of conservation efforts; field research, especially quantitative sampling, continues to be essential to improve knowledge on biodiversity and its distribution patterns; training biologists to be able to carry out biodiversity assessments and to interpret the results should be a key issue for universities. We hope that the communication of this record will encourage new scientific discoveries and raise social interest about the conservation of grasslands in South Brazil.