Soil-Vegetation Relationship in Quartzitic and Ferruginous Brazilian Rocky Outcrops

Abstract

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.