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.