Vegetation, phytoecological regions and landscape diversity in Ceará state, northeastern Brazil

Abstract

This article presents a review of the vegetation types occurring in Ceará state, Northeastern Brazil. We explain how climate and geomorphology have produced the different landscapes in Ceará and aim to characterize the main features, distribution and anthropogenic threats for each vegetation type. To achieve this we performed fieldwork and evaluated available maps and the literature in order to summarize the main attributes of each vegetation type. We also compiled floristic surveys for Ceará state and used multivariate analysis to compare the similarity of species composition among the different phytoecological units and to interpret the biogeographical patters observed.