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The inventory of ferns and lycophytes was carried out in Cerro da Pedra do Lagarto, a vegetation refuge with distinct phytophysiognomies (forest and natural grassland, respectively) located in the district of Santo Antao, North of the Municipality of Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul State. The aim of this study was to contribute to the knowledge of the flora of fern and lycophytes in the poorly sampled central Region of the State, supplying ecologic and biological data and a dichotomous key for the identification of the species observed. There are 34 fern species and two lycophyte species, belonging to 28 genera of 14 botanical families. Polypodiaceae was the richest family with eight species, followed by Pteridaceae, with seven. Most species were terrestrial and the only arborescent specie was Cyathea atrovirens. The inventoried data represent 9.5% of the known species of ferns and lycophytes for the State of Rio Grande do Sul.

The geomorphological and climatic aspects influence the environments mosaic existing in the northern region of Rio Grande do Sul, of which the coastal dunes stand out. The aim of this study was to carry out the floristic survey, by means of walks, and characterize the vegetation structure through the evaluation ofphytosociological parameters in 45 plots, in a portion of coastal dunes, Torres, RS. A number of 141 species were identified, 104 native and 37exotics, distributed in 54 families. The families Asteraceae and Poaceae presented the highest floristic richness. The species with the highest value of importance were Panicum racemosum (P. Beauv.) Spreng. and Panicum repens L. The high number of species found as well as the presence of endangered species indicates the importance of the area and the need to expand efforts for conservation, mainly because it is a buffer zone of the conservation unit Ilha dos Lobos Wild Life Refuge.