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Vascular plant diversity in a Brazilian hotspot: floristic knowledge gaps and tools for conservation

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Abstract

We present one of the first lists of vascular plants for an area in the Brazilian State of Espírito Santo (ES). Field expeditions were carried out between 2011 and 2016 in four portions of vegetation in Serra do Valentim, ES, to collect samples of reproductive botanical material. After identification, we found a total of 590 species distributed in 327 genera and 112 botanical families. Orchidaceae (61 spp.), Melastomataceae (40), Asteraceae (37), Rubiaceae (29) and Polypodiaceae and Solanaceae (24) were some of the families with the highest species richness. We report 11 new records of species for Espírito Santo, three new species for science and 54 endangered species, demonstrating the floristic importance of Serra do Valentim. Our efforts were decisive in helping to fill knowledge gaps regarding the flora of Espirito Santo state, providing a basis for conducting species conservation and enhancing the value of small forest remnants, which should be considered in research and inventory proposals.

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Acknowledgements

We are especially thankful to Mr. Aristides and family and Mr. Plinio Silveira and family for permission to collect data on their properties and for encouraging this research. We are especially thankful for the collaboration of taxonomists of the herbarium RB, R, SPFR, SP, UPCB, VIES, HRCB, BHCB, MBML, UFG, HUEFS, HUFSJ and HEPH for their help in the identification of botanic material. Without this strong support, we would not have managed to generate such a considerable list of species of Serra do Valentim. The first author is grateful to the Brazilian Federal Agency for the Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior–CAPES) for granting a master’s scholarship and to the master’s student Eduardo Alves Araújo for providing the map of Serra do Valentim.

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  1. Department of Forest Sciences and Wood, Federal University of Espirito Santo, Avenida Governador Lindemberg, 316, Jerônimo Monteiro, ES, CEP 29.550-000, Brazil

    João Paulo Fernandes Zorzanelli, Henrique Machado Dias & Sustanis Horn Kunz

  2. Department of Agricultural Sciences, Federal University of São João del Rei, Campus Sete Lagoas, Rodovia MG-424, Km 47, Sete Lagoas, MG, CEP 35.701-970, Brazil

    Aderbal Gomes da Silva

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  1. João Paulo Fernandes Zorzanelli
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Correspondence to João Paulo Fernandes Zorzanelli.

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Zorzanelli, J.P.F., Dias, H.M., da Silva, A.G. et al. Vascular plant diversity in a Brazilian hotspot: floristic knowledge gaps and tools for conservation. Braz. J. Bot 40, 819–827 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40415-017-0386-z

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