Ilha do Cardoso, Brazil

The 10-ha Ilha do Cardoso plot is located in restinga forest in Ilha do Cardoso State Park on the extreme south coast of São Paulo State in the city of Cananéia (25°03’05”– 25°18’18”S, 47°53’48” – 48°05’42”W) in the Estuarin-lagunar Complex Iguape-Cananéia-Paranaguá. The island is approximately 22,500 ha and was made a state park in 1962. The island topography is predominantly mountainous, and its central region contains massive crystalline rocks over 800 m high. The plot’s hydromorphic podzol soils are the result of recent sea sedimentation and are characterized by high levels of sand, low levels of clay and silt, and low fertility.

The plot was established in 2000 (dbh >4.78 cm) as one of four 10-ha plots in the project Parcelas Permanente São Paulo (PPSP, BIOTA-FAPESP) to study the four forest types (Atlantic, restinga, semideciduous, cerradão) that occur in the state of São Paulo. The study of these tree communities aims to increase understanding of their dynamics and diversity to help improve conservation, management, and restoration practices.

In 2008, Ilha do Cardoso joined the CTFS network with the inauguration of a recensus of the plot to include all trees ≥ 1 cm dbh. The 2000 census included more than 15,000 trees greater than 4.78 cm dbh. The second census will likely include about 40,000 trees ≥ 1 cm dbh.