Araujo 2015 (Conference Paper) Encholirium

The monodominance of Encholirium spctabilis Mart. ex Schult. in inselbergs from an area of the semi-arid region in northeastern Brazil

Author(s):—Maria Fátima Araujo & Marccus Alves in Benko-Iseppon, A.M.; Alves, M. & Louzada, R. (2015) An overview and abstracts of the First World Congress on Bromeliaceae Evolution. Rodriguésia 66(2): A1-A66.

Publication:— (2015).

Abstract:—The semi-arid region in the Brazilian Northeast, locally called Caatinga, holds several inselbergs, for which just a few located on the states of Bahia, Ceará, Paraíba and Pernambuco have floristic inventories available. Over the last three years, the inselbergs located in the municipality of Patos, state of Paraíba were studied and 307 species of vascular plants were recorded from them. In the studied area, Encholirium spectabilis is the only saxicolous species of the Bromeliaceae. The species is remarkably abundant in all nine inselbergs evaluated and is dominant at all altitudinal levels. However, the monodominance is more intense in the middle altitudinal levels. The species is ecologically very aggressive and blooms during the entire year during the rain and dry seasons. The dense clumps provide shelter for several species of small animals including lizards which are very common in the area. Bees are common visitors to the flowers but sometimes visitors such as dragonflies were also recorded in the area. In two inselbergs almost the whole area of exposed rock is covered by Encholirium spectabilis which also provide shade and a humid habit for the establishment other plants. It reinforces the ecological value of the species to preserve the diversity of animals and plants in the inselbergs in the semi-arid region in Brazil.

Keywords:—ecology, inselbergs, caatinga