Tree community patterns along pond-upland topographic gradients, upper Uruguay River basin, southern Brazil

• Daniel Grasel ^[1] ; Eduardo Luís Hettwer Giehl ^[2] ; João André Jarenkow ^[3]
  1. [1] Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul

     Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul

     Brasil

     
  2. [2] Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina

     Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina

     Brasil

     
  3. [3] Programa de Pós-Graduação em Botânica, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Bento Gonçalves 9500, CEP 91501-970, Bloco IV, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil; Departamento de Botânica, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Bento Gonçalves 9500, CEP 91501-970, Bloco IV, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

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• Localización: Folia geobotánica: A journal of plant ecology and systematics, ISSN-e 1874-9348, ISSN 1211-9520, Vol. 55, Nº 2, 2020, págs. 109-126
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • We investigated the interrelations between environmental variables (proxies for water availability and soil physico-chemical properties) and tree community patterns (diversity, composition and structure) along pond-upland topographic gradients within depressional watersheds in the upper Uruguay River basin in southern Brazil. Sampling plots were allocated in four topographic habitats: (1) inside ponds (wetland sites) and (2) immediately outside them, and in areas with (3) 60 cm and (4) 120 cm of elevation in relation to their limits (upland sites). Environmental conditions and forest composition varied along pond-upland gradients, but the diversity and structure of tree communities did not. Species turnover was associated with changes in topography-driven environmental conditions, notably water availability. Depressional watersheds show regionally unique abiotic and biotic features but are virtually unprotected by Brazilian private land legislation.