Monodominance of Calophyllum brasiliense (Calophyllaceae) in hygrophilous rainforest stands in NE Corrientes (Argentina)

Abstract

Hygrophilous forests are tree dominated formations in periodically or permanently waterlogged environments. The species composition, phytosociological structure and tree diversity of hygrophilous forest stands located in Puerto Valle, in the northeast of the Iberá wetland (Corrientes, Argentina), are described. The forest of Puerto Valle consists of 24 species with a monodominant formation of the “arary”, Calophyllum brasiliense (Calophyllaceae), as the main component. The floristic similarity between communities indicates complete dissimilarity between forest patches in Puerto Valle sites. Natural recruitment in Puerto Valle also showed a predominance of C. brasiliense, in line with the monodominant character of the species. Our results indicate a great spatial variability of the rain forests in the territorial matrix and reinforce the relict character of the forest with C. brasiliense in Argentina.