FLORISTIC AND SIMILARITY ANALYSIS OF TREE SPECIES IN "MATA DA PRAIA DO TOTO', PELOTAS, RIO GRANDE DO SUL STATE, BRAZIL

The floristic survey of tree species was performed in a 'Restinga' forest, municipality of Pelotas, Rio Grande do sul State, Brazil. The area studied is known as 'Mata da Praia do Toto'('Toto' beach forest), and comprises a remnant formed by a sandy and turf 'Restinga' forest. A total 65 native species were sampled comprising 51 genera distributed in 34 families. The family with the greatest number of species was Myrtaceae, with ten species, followed by Salicaceae and Rubiaceae. The most representative genera were Myrsine and Eugenia, respectivelly sampled with four and three species. The analysis of similarity sampled that the sandy forest is floristically related to riparian and hillside forests and the forest peat is related to other forests located in areas of permanent water saturation of soil. Species richness of the site is high for 'Restinga' forests in Rio Grande do Sul state, probably due to the influence of forests located in Serra dos Tapes and by diversity of the environments that make up the study area.