Waterlogging as an environmental filter to tree recruitment in tropical wet grasslands

Autor(es)

Ferreira Ribeiro, Jonathan Wesley ^{[1, 2]} ; Goncalo, Rafael Reis ^[2] ; Kolb, Rosana Marta ^{[1, 2]}

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Estadual Paulista, Inst Biociencias, BR-13506900 Rio Claro, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ Estadual Paulista, Fac Ciencias & Letras, BR-19806900 Assis, SP - Brazil

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: Australian Journal of Botany; v. 69, n. 8 OCT 2021.
• Citações Web of Science: 0

Resumo

Wet grasslands from the Brazilian Savanna (Cerrado) are open-canopy vegetation dominated by subshrubs and herbaceous plants. Although they frequently occur between gallery forests and savannas, tree species are rarely observed colonising these grasslands. Here, seed germination and seedling development of Cerrado trees under waterlogging conditions were evaluated in order to elucidate how soil waterlogging constrains tree regeneration in tropical wet grasslands. We used seeds of 11 representative Cerrado tree species that have different requirements for soil moisture (non-flooded v. flooded environments). Short periods (15 days) of waterlogging drastically decreased or inhibited germination and seedling development in four species, whereas long periods (30-45 days) of waterlogging reduced or inhibited germination and seedling development in 6 of the 11 species. As expected, we found fewer waterlogging-resistant seeds associated with those species from non-flooded environments. By contrast, more waterloggingresistant seeds were associated with species that eventually or typically occur in flooded environments. Our results suggest that soil waterlogging is an important environmental filter constraining tree recruitment in tropical wet grasslands. However, some species can overcome this environmental filter by possessing waterlogging-resistant seeds or avoid it by establishing in less waterlogged locations. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 18/07335-1 - Avaliação da tolerância ao alagamento em sementes de espécies arbóreas do Cerrado
• Beneficiário: Rafael Reis Gonçalo
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Iniciação Científica
• Processo FAPESP: 15/24093-3 - Respostas morfofisiológicas de espécies arbóreas às condições edáficas do campo úmido em áreas de Cerrado
• Beneficiário: Rosana Marta Kolb
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Regular