Análise fitossociológica arbustivo-arbóreo direcionada à abelhas nativas em área de preservação do bioma caatinga.

Abstract

The Caatinga biome has a thorny deciduous vegetation that occupies 70% of the northeast region and 11% of the Brazilian territory, being the main ecosystem existing in the Northeast Region, extending through the domain of semi-arid climates. For the maintenance and preservation of the Caatinga biome, it is important to highlight the fundamental role that bees play in carrying out an important pollination process, and that the disappearance of bees can reduce or even decimate plant species. Given the above, the objective of this study is to analyze the shrub-tree phytosociology and its correlation with native bees in the Caatinga preservation area. The research was developed in a native forest area of the Caatinga biome, belonging to the Professor Ignacio Salcedo Experimental Station of the National Institute of Semiarid Region, located in the city of Campina Grande-PB. To study the floristic composition of the arboreal component, 22 plots were established. The sampling units were constituted between permanent plots measuring 10m x 20m, giving a total of 4400m² distributed in the total area. Samples of each species were collected and herborized for identification purposes. For the sampled taxa (species and families), the following phytosociological parameters were calculated: density; frequency and dominance. The floristic survey of the herbaceous component gathered 706 samples and allowed the identification of 12 families. The juazeiro (Ziziphus joazeiro) is an endemic species of the Caatinga, which has great economic and biological importance, mainly due to its medicinal properties. It is a well-known tree in the semiarid region of the Northeast, whose fruits have nutritional properties and can even be used for human consumption. Therefore, due to preserved areas of the Caatinga biome with good species diversity, bees such as the S. depilis species develop and reproduce in a balanced manner, and can be a species used in the production of honey, wax, and other by-products, thus also contributing to the socioeconomic development of the region.