| Grant number: | 00/12469-3 |
| Support Opportunities: | BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Thematic Grants |
| Start date: | November 01, 2001 |
| End date: | September 30, 2006 |
| Field of knowledge: | Biological Sciences - Botany - Plant Morphology |
| Principal Investigator: | Silvia Rodrigues Machado |
| Grantee: | Silvia Rodrigues Machado |
| Host Institution: | Instituto de Biociências (IBB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil |
| Pesquisadores principais: | Maria das Graças Sajo |
| Associated scholarship(s): | 07/52759-0 - Anatomic studies of leguminosae from the Cerrado with different speeds of foliar movement: comparative anatomy of the pulvine, petiole, rachis and main vein,
BP.IC 05/60086-0 - Secretory spaces in vegetative organs of two Leguminosae species in the cerrado: ontogenesis, structure and secretion, BP.DR 04/04679-9 - Anatomy of the caulis and leaf of three species of Lippia houst (Verbenaceae) from the Cerrado, BP.IC + associated scholarships - associated scholarships |
Abstract
Several factors have contributed to the devastation of the cerrados, such as the use of wood for energy production (firewood and charcoal), agricultural use or extensive cattles raising, impact caused by tourism, and mineral exploration. This situation has got worse as vegetal resources have been indiscriminately destroyed, without a knowledge of the many different biological aspects of species representative of this biome. Although some structural peculiarities of the cerrado plants are well konown, data in literature are limited to a few species and are of restricted access heing part of unpublished Ph.D. and Master theses. Many morphological, anatomical, and ultrastructural aspects of most representatives of this biome are unknown despite the richness and diversity of this vegetation. The general objective of this project is to perform a comprehensive and integrated morphological, anatomical, and ultrastructural study of the cerrado species in São Paulo State, in order to detect their common characteristics, as well as to evaluate the ecological and functional significance of the structural peculiarities observed. The specific objectives are: to study the morphology and anatomy of subterranean organs, leaves, fruits, and seeds; to characterize the micromorphology of leaf, fruit, and seed surface; to describe the morphology of the seedling at different stages of post-seminal development; to survey the structures of vegetative propagation, determining the nature of the subterranean systems and identifying the main reserve compounds; and to characterize the morphology and histochemistry of the gland structures present in vegetative and reproductive organs. Representative species of the herbaceous, shrubby, and arboreal components of the cerrado vegetation in São Paulo state will be selected according to existing floristic surveys. The studies on post-seminal development will be performed in a germinator and in a greenhouse. For the anatomical studies, slides will be prepared with usual techniques, using hand-cut and michrotome sections from material embedded in paraffin, paraplast, and historesin. For the histochemical studies, the samples will be fixed in an appropriate medium and sections will be stained with specific reagents. The ultrastructural studies will include analyses by scanning and transmission electron microscopy, using samples prepared according to conventional protocols. The team's interest in this type of vegetation, the previous ability of working together in research projects, and the necessity of interaction of diverse specialities will help this project provide prompt and consistent data. (AU)
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