Biodiversity in Forest Fragments under Different Forms of Environmental Conservation, Jaboticabal, São Paulo, Brazil

Abstract

Characteristic environments of forests generally harbor significant biodiversity, which is considered an important indicator of local environmental quality, so that the analysis of this indicator can subsidize the decision making on areas for legal reserve. The objective of this work was to evaluate the biodiversity of forest fragments at different levels of anthropization in the municipality of Jaboticabal, State of São Paulo, Brazil. The related research was carried out in three forest fragments, an area under reforested conditions, a natural remnant area and an area under natural regeneration. Each fragment was divided into three sampling units of 240 m2, constituting the replicates. The total frequency of insects, amphibians, birds, mammals, reptiles and trees was evaluated. Cluster analysis indicated that there were differences between the three fragment types. The analyzed variables were summarized in two main components, which explain 87.1% of the accumulated total variance. It was concluded that the areas of natural remnants and reforestation presented higher frequencies of species and, consequently, greater biological diversity than the natural regeneration area.