Keywords
antropogenic area
microsite
plant canopy
herb
demografía
área antropogénica
micrositio
dosel
hierbas
How to Cite
Abstract
The conditions for plant establishment in mature forest are different from those found in disturbed areas. In dry environments, the herbaceous cover is the most important in the recolonization of deforested areas. It can, therefore, act as an ideal biological group for assessing how changes in habitat heterogeneity affect the resilience of dry forests. The aim of this research was to evaluate whether natural regeneration of the herbaceous stratum differed between areas of mature and secondary forest of Caatinga and to describe this process. The study took place in the Brazilian semiarid region during the rainy season 2011 (January to August), where fifty 1m² plots were set up, 25 allocated to the microhabitat established as “between canopies” and 25 to the microhabitat “under the canopy”. The herbaceous species selected for the study were Delilia biflora (Asteraceae), Gomphrena vaga (Amaranthaceae) and Pseudabutilon spicatum (Malvaceae), abundant species occurring in both areas. All individuals from the selected populations were counted, marked with sequential numbers, and the height of the stem was measured. Differences between areas, and in size and survival between microhabitats, were found only for the first two species. Fruit production was higher in the mature forest for the three species. The study concluded that: 1. The effect of the microhabitats “between canopies” and “under the canopy” in mature and secondary forest areas depends on the species considered; 2. Populations sensitive to light intensity differ in number of individuals, height and fruit production; and 3. The resilience of anthropogenic areas in semiarid environments can be characterized by the presence of spatial heterogeneity with regard to the emergence and survival of herbaceous seedlings, suggesting that the regeneration of disturbed areas may occur in patches.
References
Aguilera, M. & Lauenroth, K. W. (1995). Influence of gap disturbances and type of microsites on seedling establishment in Bouteloua gracilis. Journal of Ecology, 83, 87-97.
Alcoforado-Filho, F. G., Sampaio, E. V. S. B., & Rodal, M. J. N. (2003). Florística e fitossociologia de um remanescente de vegetação caducifólia espinhosa arbórea em Caruaru. Acta Botânica Brasileira, 17, 287-303.
Andrade, J. R., Santos, J. M. F. F., Lima, E. M., Lopes, C. G. R., Silva, K. A., & Araújo, E. L. (2007). Estudo populacional de Panicum trichoides Swart. (Poaceae) em uma área de Caatinga em Caruaru, Pernambuco. Revista Brasileira de Biociências, 5, 858-860.
Andrade, L. A., Pereira, I. M., Leite, U. T., & Barbosa, M. R. V. (2005). Análise da cobertura de duas fitofisionomias de Caatinga, com diferentes históricos de uso, no Município de São João do Cariri, Estado da Paraíba. Cerne, 11, 253-262.
Araújo, E. L., Silva, K. A., Ferraz, E. M. N., Sampaio, E. V. S. B., & Silva, S. I. (2005). Diversidade de herbáceas em microhabitates rochoso, plano e ciliar em uma área de Caatinga, Caruaru- PE. Acta Botânica Brasílica, 19, 285-294.
Araújo, E. L., & Ferraz, E. M. N. (2003). Processos ecológicos mantenedores da diversidade vegetal na Caatinga: estado atual do conhecimento. In V. Claudino-Sales (Org.), Ecossistemas brasileiros: manejo e conservação. Fortaleza, Brazil: Expressão Gráfica.
Ayres, M., Ayres Júnior, M., Ayres, D. L., & Santos, A. A. (2007). Bioestat-Aplicações estatísticas nas áreas das ciências biomédicas. Belém: Ong Mamiraua.
Belsky, A. J. (1990). Tree/grass ratios in East African savannas: a comparison of existing models. Journal of Biogeography, 17, 483-489.
Belsky, A. J. (1994). Influences of trees on savanna productivity: Tests of shade, nutrients, and tree-grass competition. Journal of Ecology, 75, 922-932.
Brooks, M. L. (1999). Habitat invasibility and dominance by alien annual plants in the western Mojave Desert. Biological Invasions, 1, 325-337.
Castelletti, C. H. M., Santos, A. M. M., Tabarelli, M., & Silva, J. M. C. (2003). Quanto ainda resta da Caatinga? Uma estimativa preliminar. In I. R. Leal, M. Tabarelli, & J. M. C. Silva (Eds.), Ecologia e Conservação da Caatinga. Recife, Brazil: University Publishing UFPE.
Crozier, C. R., & Boerner, R. E. J. (1984). Correlations of Understory Herb Distribution Patterns with Microhabitats under Different Tree Species in a Mixed Mesophytic Forest. Oecologia, 62, 337-343.
Ferguson, B. G., Vandermeer, J., Morales, H., & Griffith, D. M. (2003). Post-agricultural succession in El Péten, Guatemala. Conservation Biology, 17, 818-828.
Flores-Torres, A., & Montaña, C. (2012). Recruiting mechanisms of Cylindropuntia leptocaulis (Cactaceae) in the Southern Chihuahuan Desert. Journal of Arid Environments, 84, 63-70.
García-Cháves, J. H., Montaña, C., Perroni, Y., Sosa, V. J., & García-Licona, J. B. (2014). The relative importance of solar radiation and soil origin in cactos seedling survivorship at two spatial scales: plant association and microhabitat. Journal of Vegetation Science, 25, 668-680.
Gómez-Aparicio, L., Gómez, J. M., & Zamora, R. (2005). Microhabitats shift rank in suitability for seedling establishment depending on habitat type and climate. Journal of Ecology, 93, 1194-1202.
Grouzis, M., & Akpo, L. E. (1997). Influence of tree cover on herbaceous layer above and below ground phytomass in Sahelian zone. Journal of Arid Environment, 35, 285-296.
Hanley, M. E. (1998). Seedling herbivory, community composition and plant life history traits. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics, 1(2), 191-205.
Kessler, J. J. (1992). The influence of karité (Vitellaria paradoxa) and néré (Parkia biglobosa) trees on sorghum production in Burkina Faso. Agroforestry Systems, 17, 297-118.
Köeppen, W. (1948). Climatologia: con un estudio de los climas de la Tierra. México: Fondo de Cultura Económica.
Kostrakiewicz, K. (2009). The influence of shadow created by adjacent plants on phenotypic plasticity of endangered species Trollius europaeus L (Ranunculaceae). Polish Journal of Ecology, 4, 625-634.
Legras, E. C., Vander Wall, S. B., & Board, D. I. (2010). The role of germination microsite in the establishment of sugar pine and Jeffrey pine seedlings. Forest Ecology and Management, 260, 806-813.
Leimu, R. & Lehtila, K. (2006). Effects of two type of herbivores on the population dynamics of a perennial herb. Basic and Applied Ecology, 7, 224-235.
Lopes, C. G. R., Ferraz, E. M. N., Castro, C. C., Lima, E. N., Santos, J. M. F. F., Santos, D. M., & Araújo, E. L. (2012). Forest succession and distance from preserved patches in the Brazilian semiarid region. Forest Ecology Managenment, 271, 115-123.
Lorenzon, M. C. A., Matrangolo, C. A., & Schoereder, J. H. (2003). Flora visitada pelas abelhas eussociais (Hymenoptera, Apidae) na Serra da Capivara, em caatinga do sul do Piauí. Neotropical Entomology, 32, 27-36.
Lozano, A. B., Araújo, E. L., Medeiros, M. F. T., & Albuquerque, U. P. (2014). The apparency hypothesis applied to a local pharmacopoeia in the Brazilian northeast. Journal of Ehtnobiology and Ethnomedicine, 10, 1-17.
Mordelet, P. & Menaut, J. C. (1995). Influence of trees on above-ground production dynamics of grasses in a humid savanna. Journal Vegetable Science, 6, 223-228.
Nordbakken, J. F., Rydgren, K., & Okland, R. H. (2004). Demography and population dynamics of Drosera anglica and D. rotundifolia. Journal of Ecology, 92, 110-121.
Raunkiaer, C. (1934). Life forms of plants and statistical plant geography. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press.
Reis, A. M. S., Araújo, E. L., Ferraz, E. M. N., & Moura, N. A. (2006). Variações interanuais na florística e fitossociologia do componente herbáceo de uma área de Caatinga, Pernambuco, Brazil. Acta Botânica Brasílica, 29, 497-508.
Riginos, C., Grace, J. B., Augustine, D. J., & Young, T. P. (2009). Local versus Landscape- Scale Effects of Savanna Trees on Grasses. Journal of Ecology, 97, 1337-1345.
Santos, J. M. F. F., Andrade, J. R., Lima, E. M., Silva, K. A., & Araújo, E. L. (2007). Dinâmica populacional de uma espécie herbácea em uma área de floresta tropical seca no Nordeste do Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Biociências, 5, 855-857.
Santos, J. M. F. F., Santos, D. M., Lopes, C. G. R., Silva, K. A., Sampaio, E. V. S. B., & Araújo, E. L. (2013). Natural regeneration of the herbaceous community in a semiarid region in Northeastern Brazil. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 185, 8287-8302.
Salo, L. F. (2004). Population dynamics of red brome (Bromus madritensis subsp. rubens): times for concern, opportunities for management. Journal of Arid Evironments, 57, 291-296.
Sampaio, E. V. S. B., Araújo, E. L., Salcedo, I. H., & Tiessen, H. (1998). Regeneração da vegetação após corte e queima, em Serra Talhada, PE. Revista Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, 33, 621-632.
Silva, A. C. O., Santana, E. F., Saraiva, A. M., Coutinho, F. N., Castro, H. A., Pisciottano, M. N. C., & Albuquerque, U. P. (2013). Which approach is more effective in the selection of plants with antimicrobial activity? Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 1-9.
Silva, K. A., Lima, E. N., Santos, J. M. F. F., Andrade, J. R., Santos, D. M., Sampaio, E. V. S. B., & Araújo, E. L. (2008). Dinâmica de gramíneas em uma área de Caatinga de Pernambuco-Brasil. In U. P. Albuquerque, A. N. Moura, & E. L. Araújo (Eds.), Biodiversidade, potencial econômico e processos eco fisiológicos em ecossistemas nordestinos. Recife, Brazil: Comunigraf.
Silveira, A. P., Araújo, E. L., Araújo, F. S., & Willadino, L. G. (2005). Predação de frutos e germinação de sementes em Auxemma oncocalyx (Allemão) Baill. e Auxemma glazioviana Taub. In R. J. M. C. Nogueira, E. L. Araújo, L. G. Willadino, & U. M. T. Cavalcante (Eds.), Estresses ambientais: danos e benefícios em plantas. Recife, Brazil: MXM Gráfica e Editora.
Suzuki, Z. O., Kudoh, H., & Kachi, N. (2004). Spatial and temporal variations in mortality of the biennial plant, Lysimachia rubida: effects of intraspecific competition and environmental heterogeneity. Journal of Ecology, 91, 114-125.
Singleton, R., Gardescu, S., Marks, P. L., & Geber, M. A. (2001). Forest herb colonization of postagricultural forests in central New York State, USA. Journal of Ecology, 89, 325-338.
Tews, J., Esther, A., Milton, S. J., & Jeltsh, F. (2006). Linking a population model with an ecosystem model: Assessing the impact of land use and climate change on savanna shrub cover dynamics. Ecological Modelling, 195, 219-228.
Titus, J. H., & Tsuyuzaki, S. (2003). Distribution of plants in relation to microsites on recent volcanic substrates on Mount Koma, Hokkaido, Japan. Ecological Research, 18, 91-98.
Vilá, M., Bartolomeus, I., Gimeno, I., Traveset, A., & Moragues, E. (2006). Demography of the Invasive Geophyte Oxalis pes-caprae Across a Mediterranean Island. Annals of Botany, 97, 1055-1062.
Yu, S., Bell, D., Sternberg, M., & Kutiel, P. (2008). The effect of microhabitats on vegetation and its relationships with seedlings and soil seed bank in a Mediterranean coastal sand dune community. Journal of Arid Environments, 72, 2040-2053.
Wang, R. Z. (2005). Demographic variation and biomass allocation of Agrpyron cristatum grown on steppe and dune sites in the Hunshandake Desert, North China. Grass and forage Science, 60, 99-102.
Zar, J. H. (1996). Bioestatistical Analysis. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Zhang, J. J., Wang, L. S., Liu, Z. A., & Li, C. H. (2006). Recent advances in flower color research of tree peony. Acta Horticulturae Sintropical, 33, 1383-1389.
Comments
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2015 Revista de Biología Tropical