The caatinga, a thorny deciduous shrub-arboreal vegetation predominant in the semiarid Northeast Brazil region, has faced chronic anthropogenic disturbance since the arrival of Europeans. Areas experiencing strong anthropogenic pressure and climatic vulnerability are often overlooked in floristic and phytosociological studies, leading to limited knowledge about their biological potential. Thus, our objective was to assess the current vegetation state in three severely degraded nuclei undergoing desertification in Ceará and determine, based on the analysis of plant diversity (richness) and structure, if there is potential for natural regeneration. We sampled 36 plots (3.24 ha), measuring trees and shrubs with a diameter at ground level (DGL) ≥ 3 cm. The vegetation was stratified into three degradation levels: open, intermediate, and closed. The open level, most impacted by human activities, exhibited reduced plant richness, density, biomass, and height compared to other levels. In contrast, the intermediate and closed covers, prevalent in the study area, showed no significant differences from each other or from caatinga areas outside the desertification nuclei. We concluded that even severely degraded areas should possess high biological potential due to the presence of preserved remnants serving as reservoirs to maintain diversity and vegetation structure in the region.

中文翻译：

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一切并没有失去：长期遭受干扰的卡廷加地区仍然拥有保存完好的植物群落

卡廷加是巴西东北部半干旱地区的一种多刺落叶灌木乔木植被，自欧洲人到来以来一直面临着长期的人为干扰。在植物区系和植物社会学研究中，遭受强烈人为压力和气候脆弱性的地区经常被忽视，导致对其生物潜力的了解有限。因此，我们的目标是评估塞阿拉正在经历荒漠化的三个严重退化核的当前植被状态，并根据植物多样性（丰富度）和结构的分析确定是否有自然更新的潜力。我们对 36 个地块（3.24 公顷）进行了采样，测量了地面直径 (DGL) ≥ 3 厘米的树木和灌木。植被分为三个退化级别：开放、中间和封闭。与其他层相比，受人类活动影响最大的开放层的植物丰富度、密度、生物量和高度均有所下降。相比之下，研究地区普遍存在的中间覆盖和封闭覆盖，彼此之间或与荒漠化核心区以外的卡廷加地区没有显着差异。我们的结论是，即使是严重退化的地区也应该具有很高的生物潜力，因为保存下来的残余物可以作为水库来维持该地区的多样性和植被结构。