Populations and species are disappearing due to disturbances in the environment caused by human activities. Given, the obvious risk of loss of diversity, it is increasingly necessary to take actions concerning preservation, in which safety features are necessary for measuring the variation of diversity in space and time. The aim of this study was to evaluate the structure and diversity in the arboreal component and natural regeneration in an area of Araucaria Forest in Southern Brazil. The vegetation sampling was performed by analyzing 180 subunits of 10 × 10 m, where all the arboreal individuals and natural regeneration were inventoried. Different alpha and beta indexes of diversity were calculated. The Margalef, Shannon, and the Beta indexes were underestimated, possibly influenced by the size of sample unit. Index Menhinick represented the diversity in a very real form, even in small sampling units. The indexes of Simpson and MacIntosh denote low dominance and the equity indexes showed high uniformity in species.
Part of the book: Selected Studies in Biodiversity