The Pantepui in the Brazilian Amazon: Vascular Flora of Serra Do Araca, a Cradle of Diversity, Richness and Endemism.

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From: The Botanical Review(Vol. 86, Issue 3-4)
Publisher: New York Botanical Garden
Document Type: Report
Length: 7,711 words
Lexile Measure: 1300L

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Abstract :

Formed by tall flat-topped mountains known as tepuis, the Pantepui is an important center of vascular plant endemism and diversity in South America. In Brazil, the Pantepui is mostly on the border of Venezuela, and an isolated area, Serra do Araca, stands out as the tepui southernmost. In this paper we present a floristic survey of the vascular plants that occur on Serra do Araca, compare the richness to other tepuis, and commented on the conservation of Amazonian "campos rupestres". Our dataset includes over 1600 records, either collected by us in three field expeditions, or by other botanists. A checklist with 436 species of vascular plants is provided. Our study also shows that among the 34 tepuis of the Pantepui, Serra do Araca ranks tenth in species richness and has 24 endemic species. Serra do Araca, like other tepuis, houses representatives of ancestral lineages of vascular plants of South America, showing how important tepuis are as cradles of lineages. Despite its importance for Amazonian biodiversity, Serra do Araca is one of the natural reserves in the Amazon with the highest number of requests for mining. Formado por altas montanhas de eumes chapados conhecidos como tepuis, o Pantepui e um importante centro de endemismo e diversidade de plantas vasculares na America do Sul. No Brasil, o Pantepui encontra-se principalmente na fronteira com a Venezuela, e urna area isolada, a Serra do Araca, destaca-se como o mais meridional dos tepuis. Neste trabalho apresentamos um levantamento floristico das plantas vasculares que ocorrem na Serra do Araca, comparamos a riqueza com outros tepuis, e comentamos sobre a conservacao dos campos rupestres amazonicos. Nosso conjunto de dados inclui mais de 1600 registros, coletudos por nos em tres expedicoes de campo, ou por outros botanicos. Urna lista de verificacao com 436 especies de plantas vasculares e fomecida. Nosso estudo tambem mostra que entre os 34 tepuis do Pantepui, a Serra do Araca ocupa a decima posicao em riqueza de especies e possui 24 especies endemicas. A Serra do Araca, como outros tepuis, abriga representantes de linhagens ancestrais de plantas vasculares da America do Sul, mostrando a importancia dos tepuis como bercos de linhagens. Apesar de sua importancia para a biodiversidade amazonica, a Serra do Araca esta em urna das unidades de conservacao estaduais da Amazonia com o maior numero de processos para mineracao. Keywords Neotropical * Biodiversity * Highlands * Campos rupestres
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Gale Document Number: GALE|A646130050