Road distance
Distance from the road into Caatinga was positively related to total species richness of plants, to phanerophyte richness, to resprouter richness and endozoochore richness, indicating overall species richness loss with the proximity of the road (Figure 1). The results show that disturbance decreases as the distance from the road increases. The species richness of chamaephytes, lianas and nitrogen-fixers did not present significant trends. The life form that experienced the greatest decrease in species richness with road-associated disturbance was phanerophytes while the functional group that experienced the greatest decrease in species richness with road-associated disturbance was the endozoochorous species-group.