EFFECT OF CHARCOAL -ENRICHED SUBSTRATE ON SEEDLINGS OF RHIZOBIUM-INOCULATED LEGUME TREES

ABSTRACT Native legume trees are planted in agroforestry systems for their hardiness and symbiosis with soil bacteria of the genus rhizobium, efficient in N2 fixation. The enrichment of the substrate composition with fine charcoal for seedling production of these trees is interesting for increasing soil porosity, water retention and the proliferation of beneficial microorganisms. Experiments were carried out to analyze the effect of substrate enrichment with charcoal on the quality of Clitoria fairchildiana, Enterolobium schomburgkii and Inga edulis seedlings. The treatments consisted of a 3:2:0.5 (v:v) mixture of clay soil, sand and bovine manure and a 3:2 (v:v) mixture of clay soil and sand combined with charcoal rates of 0, 10, 19 and 29%. After mixing the components, substrate samples were collected and chemically analyzed. The experiment was arranged in a completely randomized design with 5 treatments and 10 replications. The seedlings were inoculated with homologues rhizobia and growth controlled monthly. The plants were collected to determine the number of nodules and dry biomass of roots, shoots and nodules. Seedling growth was similar on substrates containing charcoal or manure, except for E. schomburkii, which increased by more than 100% on the charcoal-containing substrates. The number and dry biomass of nodules in the charcoal-containing substrates was up to 100% and 300% higher than in the manure-containing treatment, respectively. The results indicated that the substitution of manure by charcoal favors the seedling quality of the studied species

Ontogenetic Stages Characterization For Three Palm Species: A Proposal Of Standardization For Population Dynamics Studies [caracterização Dos Estádios Ontogenéticos De Três Espécies De Palmeiras: Uma Proposta De Padronização Para Estudos De Dinâmica Populacional1]

The objective of this study was to identify, classify and describe the ontogenetic stages and/or size classes of three tropical palm species, Astrocaryum aculeatissimum (Schott) Burret, Euterpe edulis Mart. and Geonoma schottiana Mart. The populations were sampled in five fragments of Atlantic Rain Forest in 2005. All individuals had their diameter and height measured, and also the number and kind of leaf recorded in each fragment of nine 30 × 30 m plots. Based on these measurements, we assigned each individual to one of five classes. Astrocaryum aculeatissimum and E. edulis change their kind of leaf throughout development. Geonoma schottiana has a high variation in the kind of leaf, and only the seedlings stage displays only one kind of leaf. The appearance of stem and reproductive events also represents class change. The kind of leaf, the surge of the stem and reproductive events were the main characteristics used for the ontogenetic stage identification. However, for E. edulis and G. schottiana class identification, we also used quantitative characteristic because some stages have wide size variation. Studies that characterize and describe species ontogenetic stages are very important for standardization and to allow comparison between studies of population structure and dynamics.344523535Alves, L.F., Martins, F.R., Santos, F.A.M., Allometry of a neotropical palm, Euterpe edulis Mart (2004) Acta Botanica Brasilica, 18, pp. 369-374Beck, H., Terborgh, J., Groves versus isolates: How spatial aggregation of Astrocaryum murumuru palms affects seed removal (2002) Journal of Tropical Ecology, 18, pp. 275-288Bernacci, L.C., Martins, F.R., Santos, F.A.M., Estrutura de estádios ontogenéticos em população nativa da palmeira Syagrus romanzoffiana (Cham.) Glassman (Arecaceae) (2008) Acta Botanica Brasilica, 22, pp. 119-130Carvalho, R.M., Martins, F.R., Santos, F.A.M., Leaf ecology of pre-reproductive ontogenetic stages of the palm tree Euterpe edulis Mart. (Arecaceae) (1999) Annals of Botany, 83, pp. 225-233Chazdon, R.L., Plant size and form in the understory palm genus Geonoma: Are species variations on a theme? (1991) American Journal of Botany, 78, pp. 680-694Chazdon, R.L., Spatial heterogeneity in tropical forest structure: Canopy palms as landscape mosaics (1996) Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 11, pp. 8-9Galetti, M., Aleixo, A., Effects of palm heart harvesting on avian frugivores in the Atlantic rain forest of Brazil (1998) Journal of Applied Ecology, 35, pp. 286-293Gatsu, K.L.E., Smirnova, O.V., Vorontzova, L.V., Zaugolnova, L.B., Zhukova, L.A., Age states of plants of various growth forms: A review (1980) Journal of Ecology, 68, pp. 675-696Henderson, A., A revision of Geonoma (Arecaceae) (2011) Phytotaxa, 17, pp. 1-271Henderson, A., Galeano, G., Bernal, R., (1995) Field Guide to the Palms of The Americas, , Princeton University Press, PrincetonLorenzi, H., Souza, H.M., Medeiros-Costa, J.T., Cerqueira, L.S.C., Ferreira, E., (2004) Palmeiras Brasileiras E Exóticas Cultivadas, , Plantarum, Nova OdessaPiñero, D., Martinez-Ramos, M., Sarukhán, J., A population model of Astrocaryum mexicanum and a sensitivity analysis of its finite rate of increase (1984) Jornal of Ecology, 72, pp. 977-991Pires, A.S., (2006) Perda Da Diversidade De Palmeiras Em Fragmentos De Mata Atlântica: Padrões E Processos, , Tese de doutorado, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Rio ClaroPortela, R.C.Q., (2008) Dinâmica Populacional De Três Espécies De Palmeiras Em Uma Paisagem Fragmentada No Domínio Da Mata Atlântica, RJ, , Tese de doutorado, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, CampinasPortela, R.C.Q., Pires, A.S., Santos, F.A.M., Unusual branching in the palm Euterpe edulis Mart (2009) Hoehnea, 36, pp. 501-506Reis, A., Kageyama, P., Reis, M.S., Fantini, A.C., Demografia de Euterpe edulis (Arecaceae) em uma Floreta Ombrófila Densa Montana em Blumenau (SC) (1996) Sellowia, 47, pp. 3-33Scariot, A., (1996) The Effects of Rain Forest Fragmentation on the Palm Community in Central Amazonia, , Tese de doutorado, University of California, Santa BarbaraSampaio, M.B., Scariot, A., Effects of stochastic herbivory events on population maintenance of an understorey palm species (Geonoma schottiana) in riparian tropical forest (2010) Journal of Tropical Ecology, 26, pp. 151-161Silva-Matos, D.M., (1995) Population Ecology of Euterpe Edulis Mart. (Palmae), , Tese de doutorado, University of East Anglia, NorwichSouza, A.F., Martins, F.R., Silva-Matos, D.M., Detecting ontogenetic stages of the palm Attalea humilis in fragments of the Brazilian Atlantic forest (2000) Canadian Journal of Botany, 78, pp. 1227-1237Souza, A.F., Martins, F.R., Bernacci, L.C., Clonal growth and reproductive strategies of the understory tropical palm Geonoma brevispatha: An ontogenetic approach (2003) Canadian Journal of Botany, 81, pp. 101-112(2004) Standard Version, , SYSTAT, version 11. SPSS Inc., Chicago, Illinoi