Leaf morpho-anatomical and physiological plasticity of two Vriesea species (Bromeliaceae) in Atlantic Coast restingas (Brazil) / Plasticidade morfoanatômica e fisiológica foliar de duas espécies de Vriesea (Bromeliaceae) em restingas da costa atlântica (Brasil)

Environmental variations may lead to structural and functional responses among Bromeliaceae and knowledge of these responses can allow better understanding about ecological processes and more effective planning of handling and conservation programs in protected areas. Because of the diverse habitats occupied by Vriesea, this study aimed at assessing the morpho-anatomical plasticity and photosynthetic pigment contents in V. neoglutinosa and V. procera occurring in the Open Clusia and Dry Forest formations of a restinga vegetation area in Espírito Santo State, Brazil. In general, plants in Dry Forest formation showed higher growth measurements and lower leaf inclination. In Open Clusia formation, both species showed leaves with higher scale density, whereas V. neoglutinosa also showed higher stomatal density. The chlorenchyma thickness of V. procera was greater in Dry Forest. We did not find differences in leaf blade thickness and water-storage parenchyma for both species between the two environments. We found abundant oil substances in guard and subsidiary cells of Open Clusia samples. In both species, individuals from the Dry Forest formation showed higher chlorophyll a and b and total chlorophyll contents, whereas V. neoglutinosa samples from the Open Clusia formation showed higher carotenoid contents. Of the characteristics assessed, photosynthetic pigment contents showed higher plasticity. We found that morphostructural and functional plasticity in both V. neoglutinosa and V. procera is possibly influenced by variations in irradiance and in nitrogen and organic matter contents in the soils of the evaluated plant formations

Effect of pollution by particulate iron on the morphoanatomy, histochemistry, and bioaccumulation of three mangrove plant species in Brazil

In Brazil, some mangrove areas are subjected to air pollution by particulate iron from mining activities. However, the effect of this pollutant on mangrove plants is not well known. This study aimed to comparatively analyze the morphoanatomy, histochemistry, and iron accumulation in leaves of Avicennia schaueriana, Laguncularia racemosa, and Rhizophora mangle. Samples were collected from five mangrove sites of Espírito Santo state, each of which is exposed to different levels of particulate iron pollution. The amount of particulate material settled on the leaf surface was greater in A. schaueriana and L. racemosa, which contain salt glands. High iron concentrations were found in leaves of this species, collected from mangrove areas with high particulate iron pollution, which suggests the foliar absorption of this element. None of the samples from any of the sites showed morphological or structural damage on the leaves. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled to X-ray diffraction rendered a good method for evaluating iron on leaves surfaces. A histochemical test using Prussian blue showed to be an appropriate method to detect iron in plant tissue, however, proved to be an unsuitable method for the assessment of the iron bioaccumulation in leaves of A. schaueriana and R. mangle. So far, this study demonstrates the need of evaluating the pathway used by plants exposed to contaminated particulate matter to uptake atmospheric pollutants.Fil: Pereira Arrivabene, Hiulana. Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo; BrasilFil: da Costa Souza, Iara. Universidade Federal do São Carlos; BrasilFil: Oliveira Có, Walter Luiz. Associação Educacional de Vitória; BrasilFil: Moreira Conti, Melina. Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo; BrasilFil: Wunderlin, Daniel Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de Alimentos Córdoba. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de Alimentos Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Rozindo Dias Milanez, Camilla. Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo; Brasi

How does UV-B radiation affect the initial growth of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.)? Physiological and structural aspects / Como a radiação UV-B afeta o crescimento inicial do feijoeiro-comum (Phaseolus vulgaris L.)? Aspectos fisiológicos e estruturais

Increased UV-B radiation, a topic of concern due to climate change, can affect plant development through structural and physiological changes. Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is a legume of great economic relevance, being one of the basic components of the human population's diet. Seeds of P. vulgaris var. Carioca were sown and grown in a growth chamber, and at 12 days of age were exposed for 15 min daily to UV-B radiation for a period of 14 days. Growth, leaf anatomy, gas exchange and pigments were evaluated. It was observed that UV-B radiation negatively affected the initial growth of bean plants, which had a reduction in height, number of leaves, fresh and dry leaf masses, leaf area, as well as reduction of stem and root dry masses. There was a reduction in the epidermis thickness, increase in the thickness of the palisade parenchyma and the leaf blade. It was verified yet reduction of the photosynthetic and photoprotectors pigments, reduction of the photosynthetic rate and alterations on the absorbent compounds of the UV-B radiation. The results obtained showed that the increase in UV-B radiation was harmful to the initial development of this crop

Matching pollution with adaptive changes in mangrove plants by multivariate statistics. A case study, Rhizophora mangle from four neotropical mangroves in Brazil

Roots of mangrove trees have an important role in depurating water and sediments by retaining metals that may accumulate in different plant tissues, affecting physiological processes and anatomy. The present study aimed to evaluate adaptive changes in root of Rhizophora mangle in response to different levels of chemical elements (metals/metalloids) in interstitial water and sediments from four neotropical mangroves in Brazil. What sets this study apart from other studies is that we not only investigate adaptive modifications in R. mangle but also changes in environments where this plant grows, evaluating correspondence between physical, chemical and biological issues by a combined set of multivariate statistical methods (pattern recognition). Thus, we looked to match changes in the environment with adaptations in plants. Multivariate statistics highlighted that the lignified periderm and the air gaps are directly related to the environmental contamination. Current results provide new evidences of root anatomical strategies to deal with contaminated environments. Multivariate statistics greatly contributes to extrapolate results from complex data matrixes obtained when analyzing environmental issues, pointing out parameters involved in environmental changes and also evidencing the adaptive response of the exposed biota. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd.Fil: Souza, Iara da Costa. Universidade Federal do São Carlos; BrasilFil: Morozesk, Mariana. Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo; BrasilFil: Duarte, Ian Drumond. Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo; BrasilFil: Bonomo, Marina Marques. Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo; BrasilFil: Rocha, Lívia Dorsch. Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo; BrasilFil: Furlan, Larissa Maria. Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo; BrasilFil: Arrivabene, Hiulana Pereira. Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo; BrasilFil: Monferran, Magdalena Victoria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de Alimentos Córdoba. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de Alimentos Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Matsumoto, Silvia Tamie. Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo; BrasilFil: Milanez, Camilla Rozindo Dias. Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo; BrasilFil: Wunderlin, Daniel Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de Alimentos Córdoba. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de Alimentos Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Fernandes, Marisa Narciso. Universidade Federal do São Carlos; Brasi

Functional traits of selected mangrove species in Brazil as biological indicators of different environmental conditions

Ecological studies on phenotypic plasticity illustrate the relevance of this phenomenon in nature. Conditions of biota reflect environmental changes, highlighting the adaptability of resident species that can be used as bioindicators of such changes. We report the morpho-anatomical plasticity of leaves of Avicennia schaueriana Stapf & Leechm. ex Moldenke, Laguncularia racemosa (L.) C.F.Gaertn. and Rhizophora mangle L., evaluated in three estuaries (Vitória bay, Santa Cruz and Itaúnas River; state of Espírito Santo, Brazil), considering five areas of mangrove ecosystems with diverse environmental issues. Two sampling sites are part of the Ecological Station Lameirão Island in Vitória bay, close to a harbor. A third sampling site in Cariacica (Vitória bay) is inside the Vitória harbor and also is influenced by domestic sewage. The fourth studied area (Santa Cruz) is part of Piraquê Mangrove Ecological Reservation, while the fifth (Itaúnas River) is a small mangrove, with sandy sediment and greater photosynthetically active radiation, also not strongly influenced by anthropic activity. Results pointed out the morpho-anatomical plasticity in studied species, showing that A. schaueriana and L. racemosa might be considered the most appropriate bioindicators to indicate different settings and environmental conditions. Particularly, the dry mass per leaf area (LMA) of A. schaueriana was the main biomarker measured. In our study, LMA of A. schaueriana was positively correlated with salinity (Spearman 0.71), Mn content (0.81) and pH (0.82) but negatively correlated with phosphorus content (− 0.63). Thus, the evaluation of modification in LMA of A. schaueriana pointed out changes among five studied sites, suggesting its use to reflect changes in the environment, which could be also useful in the future to evaluate the climate change.Fil: Pereira Arrivabene, Hiulana. Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo; BrasilFil: Souza, Iara. Universidade Federal de São Carlos; BrasilFil: Oliveira Có, Walter Luiz. Associação Educational de Vitória; BrasilFil: Rodellada, Roberto Antonio. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Wunderlin, Daniel Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de Alimentos Córdoba. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de Alimentos Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Rozindo Milanez, Camilla. Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo; Brasi

Adaptive plasticity of Laguncularia racemosa in response to different environmental conditions: integrating chemical and biological data by chemometrics

Mangroves are dynamic environments under constant influence of anthropic contaminants. The correlation between environmental contamination levels and possible changes in the morphology of plants, evaluated by multivariate statistics helps to highlight matching between these variables. This study aimed to evaluate the uptake and translocation of metals and metalloids in roots and leaves as well as the changes induced in both anatomy and histochemistry of roots of Laguncularia racemosa inhabiting two estuaries of Espírito Santo (Brazil) with different pollution degrees. The analysis of 14 elements in interstitial water, sediments and plants followed by multivariate statistics, allowed the differentiation of studied sites, showing good match between levels of elements in the environment with the corresponding in plants. L. racemosa showed variations in their root anatomy in different collection areas, with highest values of cortex/vascular cylinder ratio, periderm thickness and air gap area in Vitória Bay, the most polluted sampling area. These three parameters were also important to differentiate the mangrove areas by linear discriminant analysis. The development stage of aerenchyma in roots reflected the oxygen availability in the water, being found a negative correlation between these variables. The combined use of chemical and biological analyses responded quite well to different pollution scenarios, matching morphological responses to physical and chemical parameters, measured at different partitions within the estuary. Thus, L. racemosa can be confirmed as a reliable sentinel plant for biomonitoring of estuaries impacted by anthropic pollution.Fil: da Souza, Lara. Universidade Federal do São Carlos; BrasilFil: Marques Bonomo, Marina. Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo; BrasilFil: Morozesk, Mariana. Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo; BrasilFil: Dorsch Rocha, Livia. Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo; BrasilFil: Drumond Duarte, Ian. Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo; BrasilFil: Furlan, Larissa Maria. Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo; BrasilFil: Pereira Arrivabene, Hiulana. Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo; BrasilFil: Monferran, Magdalena Victoria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de Alimentos Córdoba. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de Alimentos Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Matsumoto, Silvia Tamie. Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo; BrasilFil: Dias Milanez, Camila Rozindo. Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo; BrasilFil: Wunderlin, Daniel Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de Alimentos Córdoba. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de Alimentos Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Narciso Fernandes, Marisa. Universidade Federal do São Carlos; Brasi