Germinação de sementes e crescimento inicial de plânturas de Pseudopiptadenia psilostachya (DC.) G.P.Lewis & M.P.Lima (Leguminosae) em diferentes anbientes de luz

A expansão da atividade madeireira e a elevada taxa de desmatamento na Amazônia têm intensificado a necessidade de estudos sobre as técnicas mais adequadas para a produção de mudas que possam ser usadas em atividades de reflorestamento e de plantio em florestas. Este estudo teve como objetivo avaliar: a) se a taxa de germinação de sementes de Pseudopiptadenia psilostachya difere entre sementes colhidas na copa e coletadas no chão da floresta; e b) qual o efeito do grau de sombreamento no viveiro sobre a germinação de sementes e o desenvolvimento inicial de plântulas dessa espécie. Seis repetições de 10 sementes colhidas na copa e coletadas no chão foram colocadas em germinador. A taxa de germinação não diferiu entre os dois métodos de obtenção de sementes, sendo recomendada a coleta de frutos no chão. No viveiro, quatro repetições de 25 sementes foram colocadas para germinar a pleno sol e em 30, 50 e 70% de sombra. Em cada tratamento de luz, 40 plântulas foram sorteadas, e sua "performance" foi avaliada quatro meses após a semeadura. Tanto a germinação das sementes quanto o crescimento em diâmetro e acúmulo de biomassa das plântulas foram superiores em 30 e 50% de sombreamento, em comparação com pleno sol. Os resultados indicaram que o crescimento de plântulas de P. psilostachya é favorecido em condições relativamente altas de iluminação, embora algum sombreamento seja necessário, e que a produção de mudas dessa espécie é de fácil execução, ao menos nos estágios iniciais de desenvolvimento das plântulas.<br>The expansion of logging and deforestation in the Amazon forest increases the need for studies on techniques to grow seedlings that can be used in reforestation and enrichment planting programs. We addressed the following questions: a) does the seed germination of Pseudopiptadenia psilostachya differ between seeds collected directly on the crown and the ones collected on the forest floor? b) what is the effect of the shading level on the seed germination and the initial development of seedlings of this species? Six replicates of 10 seeds were germinated in a growth chamber. The germination rate did not differ between the seed collection methods and the collection of fruits in the forest floor is recommended. In the nursery, four replicates of 25 seeds were germinated under full sun and 30%, 50% and 70% shade. In each light treatment, the performance of 40 seedlings randomly selected was assessed four months after sowing. Seed germination, seedling growth and biomass accumulation were higher under 30% and 50% shade than under full sun. The results suggest that the growth of P. psilostachya seedlings is favored under high light levels, although some shade is required, and that it is relatively easy to produce seedlings of this species, at least on the initial developmental stage

A comparison of two spectral approaches for computing the Earth response to surface loads

When predicting the deformation of the Earth under surface loads, most models follow the same methodology, consisting of producing a unit response that is then con-volved with the appropriate surface forcing. These models take into account the whole Earth, and are generally spherical, computing a unit response in terms of its spherical harmonic representation through the use of load Love numbers. From these Love numbers, the spatial pattern of the bedrock response to any particular scenario can be obtained. Two different methods are discussed here. The first, which is related to the convolution in the classical sense, appears to be very sensitive to the total number of degrees used when summing these Love numbers in the harmonic series in order to obtain the corresponding Green’s function. We will see from the spectral properties of these Love numbers how to compute these series correctly and how consequently to eliminate in practice the sensitivity to the number of degrees (Gibbs Phenomena). The second method relies on a preliminary harmonic decomposition of the load, which reduces the convolution to a simple product within Fourier space. The convergence properties of the resulting Fourier series make this approach less sensitive to any harmonic cut-off. However, this method can be more or less computationally expensive depending on the loading characteristics. This paper describes these two methods, how to eliminate Gibbs phenomena in the Green’s function method, and shows how the load characteristics as well as the available computational resources can be determining factors in selecting one approach