Search

The Parque Estadual do Forno Grande is a fully protected area in the southern Espírito Santo State, Brazil. It belongs to the Atlantic Forest domain, with predominantly dense, ombrophilous, seasonal semi-deciduous forests and herbaceous/shrubby vegetation on rock outcrops. The area is recognised as highly important for conservation, designated as a priority biological area for protecting the Atlantic Forest's biodiversity. Although the importance of Protected Areas in conserving the Atlantic Forest biodiversity is unquestionable, it is crucial to understand the floristic patterns within these regions to develop effective conservation strategies. We utilised national online databases to compile species lists containing relevant information about their biodiversity. The updated list of vascular plants recorded in the Parque Estadual do Forno Grande is available in the “Catálogo de Plantas das Unidades de Conservação do Brasil” and it is presented here with further information on richness, endemism and conservation status.The Parque Estadual do Forno Grande harbours 958 species of vascular plants, of which 79.2% are angiosperms, 18.4% are ferns and 2.4% are lycophytes. Amongst these species, 44% are endemic to the Atlantic Forest. There are 58 threatened species, of which six are Critically Endangered, 39 are Endangered and 13 are Vulnerable. Amongst the threatened species, 51 are endemic to the Atlantic Forest. The number of records and the species richness in this area are notably high for Atlantic Forest standards. Our findings suggest that floristic inventories of Brazilian Protected Areas are a key contribution to the general perception of how much we still do not know about our flora. It also highlights the necessity of supporting floristic surveys in poorly-known areas, especially those remaining as forest remnants.

Brazilian protected areas are essential for the conservation of plants of the Atlantic Forest domain, one of 36 global biodiversity hotspots. A major challenge for improving conservation actions is to know the richness of plants protected by these areas. Online databases offer an accessible way to build plant species lists and to provide relevant information about biodiversity. A list of land plants of “Parque Nacional do Caparaó” (PNC) was previously built using online databases and published on the website "Catálogo de Plantas das Unidades de Conservação do Brasil." Here, we provide and discuss additional information about plant species richness, endemism, and conservation in the PNC that could not be included in the list. We documented 1,791 species of land plants as occurring in PNC, of which 63 are cited as threatened (CR, EN, or VU) by the Brazilian National Red List, seven as data deficient (DD), and five as priorities for conservation."Parque Nacional do Caparaó" houses 8% of the land plant species endemic to the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, including 6% of its angiosperms, 31% of its lycophytes and ferns, and 14% of its avascular plants. Twelve percent of the threatened species listed for the state of Espírito Santo and 7% listed for the state of Minas Gerais are also protected by PNC. Surprisingly, 79% of the collections analyzed here were carried out in Minas Gerais, which represents just 21% of the total extension of the park. The compiled data uncover a huge botanical collection gap in this federally protected area.