Floristic inventory of restinga vegetation of Bonfim Guaraíra Environmental Protection Area
Key words: Atlantic Forest, Bonfim/Guraíra Environmental Protected Area, conservation flora, Species richness
Restinga is a type of vegetation that occurs in coastal areas, composed of herbaceous, shrubby, and arboreal physiognomies. In Rio Grande do Norte state, there is still a scarcity of information on the restinga vegetation. Thus, this paper presents a floristic survey of the vascular plants in an area from restinga of Bomfim/Guaraíra Environmental Protection Area (APA), in Nísia Floresta municipality, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. The survey was based on collection of fertile samples along the study area from December 2015 to September 2016, as well as on collections deposited in the UFRN herbarium. The study area is characterized by being a transitional formation between areas of salt marshes, sand dunes vegetation and enclaves of Atlantic forest, besides having dozens of interdune lakes, which supply several municipalities with water. The list presents a total of 141 species belonging to 112 genera and 52 families. The richest families in number of species were Poaceae (18), Cyperaceae (16), Fabaceae (14), Rubiaceae (8), Apocynaceae, Asteraceae, Convolvulaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Lamiaceae and Myrtaceae (4 each). The fragmentation and anthropogenic impacts verified in studied area reinforce an urgent need for conservation of the flora of the APA Bomfim/Guaraíra.