Vegetation development in a sand dune ten years after restoration, Parque Municipal das Dunas da Lagoa da Conceição, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina

Abstract

The vegetation cover of a sand dune was surveyed ten years after the improvement of a restoration project that utilized seed sowing, seedling planting and seedling transplantation from an adjacent area with watering in the first months. On the upper part of the restored dune, the vegetation was sparse (53%) but more developed than that of the adjacent control area (34%), both presenting herbaceous/subshrub physiognomy with predominance of Panicum racemosum. On the slope of the restored dune, a shrub vegetation developed, presenting a percentage cover (90%) similar to that of the control area (100%). Dodonaea viscosa was the dominant species on this restored face. The establishment of arboreal and shrub species seedlings on the upper dune was good. In part, this improved the species richness, but contributed to dissimilarity between this area and the control site.  A lower species richness was presented on the slope and the similarity to the control area was even lower. Plants introduced by sowing and seedling transplantation showed success and contributed to the similarity with the adjacent vegetation. Seedlings of arboreal and shrub plants survived on the upper dune. These species are represented in a more developed stage of succession, differing from the adjacent control area.