Nitrogen dynamics in two pastures on natural regeneration in the Serra do Mar State Park - Santa Virgínia

Author(s)

Juliana Gonçalez Gragnani

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: Piracicaba.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALA/BC)
• Defense date: 2014-05-23

Examining board members

Luiz Antonio Martinelli; Sergius Gandolfi; Jean Pierre Henry Balbaud Ometto

• Advisor: Luiz Antonio Martinelli

Abstract

In the North coast of the State of São Paulo at 1,000 of altitude there is a mosaic of conserved forests interspersed with old pastures. Despite the differences between the areas with respect to the abandonment time, the pattern of land use is similar, with the lower parts of the terrain occupied by remnants of the old pastures, while the higher parts have a higher area and more diverse vegetation, characterized as a secondary forest. Between them there is a stretch of transition, which includes a small number of plant species. The aim of this study was to investigate the nitrogen dynamic in two areas, Puruba and Pirapitinga, with 7 to 36 years of regeneration, respectively. To this end, the concentrations of foliar and soil carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus were analyzed, in addition to isotopic composition of carbon and stable nitrogen in 277 soil samples and 412 leaf samples collected along transects that extended from old pastures to secondary forests. ?13C values of the soil decreased along the transects, indicating that the organic matter produced by secondary vegetation that is exclusively C3, is replacing the earlier vegetation C4. In pasture areas, the relative contribution of C4 plants was estimated at 0.34 in Puruba and 0.31 in Pirapitinga. With respect to the chemical composition of the soil, only the increases in concentrations of C and N were significant, probably due to the increasing inputs of organic matter via litterfall. With regard to the dynamic of nitrogen, it was expected that the results would indicate an Nenrichment of the system along the transect, with increasing concentration of the nutrient and the N:P leaves, leading to higher values of ?15N. Comparing the number of species collected in each portion of the transects, the trends observed were not as evident. In Puruba, only N:P had the expected behavior. In Pirapitinga, nitrogen contents were lower in the grazing area, increasing significantly in the transition area and forest, and the same trend was observed for the C:N and N:P. Considering that the variability between species can be high, masking possible trends along the transects, leaf composition of the predominant species, which were Tibouchina sellowiana in Puruba and Tibouchina sellowiana and Psidium cattleianum in Pirapitinga was analyzed. In Puruba, only the average N content was lower than in the transition forest. In Pirapitinga, N content was higher in transition than in the pasture and the C:N lower, as expected, but the ?15N values did not follow the expected trend. Perhaps, the lack of clear patterns along the transect, as found in other studies, lies in the fact that this study covered grazing areas that have not yet become developed forests, where colonization by C3 plants is still in its beginning, despite the high proportion of it incorporated into the soil. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 10/13592-5 - Nutrient cycling in pastures areas under natural regeneration at the Núcleo Santa Virgínia- Serra do Mar State Park
• Grantee: Juliana Gonçalez Gragnani
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master