Comparison between canopy trees and arboreal lower strata of urban semideciduous seasonal forest in Araguari, MG

The present study intended to determine the phytosociological characteristics of the tree elements on the lower strata and the canopy of a semideciduous seasonal forest. The trees (>= 15 cm circumference at breast height) were sampled in 40 plots of 10m x 20m. The individuals in the lower strata (>= 1m up to 15 cm. of circumference in the base of the stem) were sampled in plots of 10m x 10m. Licania apetala and Micrandra elata obtained the first and second places in the two strata. Among the species with the highest value of importance on the canopy, Alchornea glandulosa, Pimenta pseudocaryophyllus, Copaifera langsdorffii, Heisteria ovata and Didymopanax morototoni presented a ratio of less than one individual in the lower strata when compared to the canopy. However, there was a high floristic similarity between the lower strata and the canopy.