Cerradão
This is open, low woodland with fairly continuous tree canopy. Tree crowns cover up to 50% of the area and there is an under story of small shrubs. The ground layer is usually dominated by grasses but also includes many forbs. In the Serra do Roncador area in Mato Grosso the characteristic trees include Aspidosperma macrocarpon, Bowdichia virgilioides, Hirtella glandulosa, Sclerolobium paniculatum and Xylopia sericea, with Hirtella glandulosa often being the dominant species. These range in height from 5-12 m. The ground layer includes numerous typical cerrado species with many grasses, ground bromeliads and acaulescent palms.
Cerrado
In its restricted sense this includes savanna woodland with an aborescent cover of about 20%. Among the most common trees in the Serra do Roncador area are Curatella americana, Davilla eliptica, Keilmeyera coriacea, Palicourea rigida, Qualea grandiflora and Salvertia convalariodora and these range in height from 7-15 m. Below the trees are various small palms including acaulescent species and these give the vegetation a characteristic appearance. At ground level grasses dominate with Andropogon (such as Andropogon bicornis), Axonopus (such as Axonopus aureus) and Paspalum (such as Paspalum carinatum) are some of the most common taxa. A number of these can reach heights of 1.25 m. These grasses are typically intermixed with a diverse selection of sedges such as Bulbostylis paradoxa, Cyperus flavus, Dichronema ciliata, Fimbristylis diphylla and Rhynchospora barbata, and various perennial herbs and vines. In places there are also stands of terrestrial bromeliads.
Cerrado Campo Limpo
These grasslands support a rich variety of graminoids, forbs and sub shrubs. In damp campo limpo near Brasília, Brazil 197 species in 105 genera and 41 families were recorded. The richest families are Poaceae, Cyperaceae, Asteraceae, Polygalaceae, Eriocaulaceae, Xyridaceae, Melastomataceae and Fabaceae. The most frequent species are Andropogon virgatus, Bulbostylis junciformis, Cuphea linarioides, Curta tenuifolia, Ludwigia nervosa, Paspalum gardnerianum, Polygala longicaulis, Rhynchospora globosa, R. rugosa, Tibouchina gracilis and Trimezia juncifolia.
Cerrado Riverine or Gallery Forest
Nearly all the water bodies in the Cerrado are fringed by forest, but show considerable variation in floristic composition. This is influenced by factors such as topography, soils, drainage and groundwater characteristics. For example, in swampy areas Calophyllum brasiliense, Hedyosmum brasiliense, Richeria grandis and Xylopia emarginata are the typical species; in seasonally flooded forest Ficus obtusiuscula, Inga vera and Salix humboldtiana are common, whereas in better drained areas Endlicheria paniculata, Hieronyma alchorneoides and Pseudolmedia laevigata are characteristic. The transition to Cerrado or grassland provides suitable conditions for various forest edge species such as Callisthene major, Lamanonia ternata, Piptocarpha macropoda and Vochysia tucanorum, while the shady interiors favour shade tolerant species such as Cheiloclinium cognatum and Siparuna guinensis. Riverine forest also provides habitat for various generalists like Casearia sylvestris, Copaifera langsdorffii, Hymenaeae courbaril, Protium heptophyllum, Schefflera morototoni and Tapirira obtusa. However, there are also a number of species unique to these forests. Such endemics include Hirtella hoehnei (Chrysobalanaceae), Unonopsis lindmannii (Annonaceae) and Vochysia pyramidalis (Vochysiaceae).
Further information required.
References
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