Occurrence of Exotic Woody Species in the State of Piauí.

Abstract

Objective – List the exotic woody species and map their occurrence in the state of Piaui.

Methodology – Secondary data collection through platforms that provide scientific publications (articles and monographs) to compile the species list. Creation of heat maps to assess the density of occurrences in the state and distribution maps of geographic points to verify occurrences in conservation units, both produced using QGIS 3.34.

Originality/Relevance – The compilation and analysis of data on the occurrence of exotic species in the state have not yet been carried out.

Results – A total of 103 exotic tree and shrub species, belonging to 39 families, were recorded. The southern region of the state has virtually no studies, while the northern and southeastern portions show the highest densities of exotic species records. Records of exotic species in conservation units were found for only four of the studied units.

Theoretical/Methodological Contributions – The research highlights the gaps and the lack of floristic studies that are better distributed throughout the state.

Social and Environmental Contributions – This study revealed that some conservation units in Piaui are filled with exotic species, which may be harmful to native species, both flora and fauna.

KEYWORDS: Biomes. Floristic survey. Conservation units.