The conservation value of forest fragments in a coastal "Restinga" forest in southeastern Brazil

Restinga forests are one of the most threatened coastal ecosystems associated with the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. As there have been very few studies of the regeneration of those forest remnants, and their many different regeneration times, we examined the composition and structure of species in both conserved and disturbed Restinga forest sites within a conservation area on the eastern coast of Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. Surveys of shrub/tree species were undertaken in 80 plots (25 m(2)) in which all woody plants were tagged, identified, measured (diameter and height), and their regrowth capacity (from roots and/or stems) evaluated. We classified the species according to their growth habits and dispersal syndromes. Comparisons of the conserved and disturbed areas were made based on phytosociological parameters. We encountered 104 species occurring exclusively in the conserved area and 45 species occurring exclusively in the disturbed area. Only thirteen species were shared by both areas (low floristic similarity), although those showed divergent tree canopy growth parameters. We identified strong differences in the floristic and structural components of disturbed and conserved areas, indicating the high conservation relevance of the latter. Our results evidence the low resilience to disturbance of Restinga forests, even considering the contiguity between conserved and disturbed areas. Species common to both areas evidenced diverse functional traits (fast-growing, zoochorous, resprouters, N-2-fixing traits) valuable to ecological restoration activities. These findings may assist policymakers in developing efficient restoration and conservation strategies for this forest type.