Phytosociology of the woody component of a vegetacion refuge in the municipality of Buíque, Pernambuco. Physiognomy and structure of a evergreen shrub vegetation found on the windward slope of the Catimbau range, at the Cigano property, Buíque (8°67'LS and 37°1' LW, altitude 800 m) were determined, as a contribution to the knowledge of the vegetation on sedimentary plateaus of Pernambuco. The point centered quarter method was used with 100 points distributed in 10 parallel lines, each point 10 m and each line 30 m apart. All living and standing dead individuals with stem diameter > or = 3 cm at soil level and plant height > or = 1 m were sampled. Total density, total basal area, average and largest diameter and height were 2.208 ind./ha, 6.07 m²/ha, 5.1 cm and 22.0 cm and 2.3 m and 7 m, respectively, revealing a shrub pattern different from those of the caatinga and carrasco studied in Northeastern Brasil. Of the 35 sampled species, Eremanthus capitatus, Piptadenia obliqua, Gochnatia oligocephala, Senna cana var. cana and Eugenia punicifolia were reponsible for 63.3% of the importance value index total. Shannon diversity index for species was 2.73 nats/ind.
phytosociology; vegetational refuge; semi-arid
