Life history aspects of the canopy tree Savia dictyocarpa Müll. Arg. (Phyllanthaceae)in a Seasonal Semideciduous Forest fragment

• Grant number: 07/05877-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: March 01, 2008
• End date: August 31, 2009
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Ecosystems Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Fernando Roberto Martini
• Grantee: Ligia Paulillo Sims
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biologia (IB). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The tree Savia dictyocarpa is one of the most abundant species in the remnants of the Seasonal Semideciduous Forest in the municipality of Campinas, São Paulo state, SE Brazil, but there is no information about its populations. A statical model of ontogenetic struture of the population provides basic information on mortality patterns in space and time and on how the species responds to different environmental conditions. If the initial ontogenetic stages of S. dictyocarpa have aggregated pattern, we expect the mortality to be density-dependent. If the density diminishes toward the more advanced ontogenetic stages, we expect the spatial distribution to be influenced by mechanisms that are independent of density. The heterogeneity in the canopy conditions is the main source of microvariation in tropical forests. If S. dictyocarpa is shade tolerant and depends on gaps to reach the canopy, we expect that the aleatory appearing of gaps implies in an alleatory pattern of adults. Light intensity in the understory also influences plant allometric relationships and architecture. If S. dictyocarpa is shade-tolerant, we expect the initial ontogenetic stages to invest more on crown growth and the late ontogenetic stages to invest more on growth in height. Knowing some aspects of a plant life history can provide an idea of the population status in the fragment, as well as a base for proposing management plans.