Abordagens taxonômica e ecológica dos padrões de raridade em comunidades arbóreas de florestas de terra firme

Abstract

The importance of tropical forests for humanity can be evaluated through the high biodiversity that they contain, the current and potential use value of their resources, and the knowledge that traditional populations have about them. Among the components of plant diversity in tropical forests, trees are the most important life form of this ecosystem, given the potential for the production of timber, pulp, pharmaceuticals and non-timber products. In this work we listed the species considered locally rare (density < 1 individual/lu). This group of species deserves special attention for conservation, since the maintenance of their populations may be threatened by human activities such as logging and deforestation. The list was compiled from the DIVERSAM database, organized by the supervisor of this work. The information comes from reports, publications in periodicals, and other databases on botanical inventories. The rare species obtained from this database were analyzed for taxonomic, phylogenetic, and ecological aspects. To minimize the effect of subsampling, we worked with a restricted group of rare species, usually those that appeared in most lists. The locally rare species are distributed in several botanical families and genera, many of which are of Amazonian, Neotropical, and Pantropical origin. From an ecological point of view, the patterns of rarity detected suggest that this group is composed primarily of large, emergent species in the forest canopy. Rare species may also have specificity for regeneration niches and irregular reproductive phenology or with supra annual periodicity.