Savanna soil fertility limits growth but not survival of tropical forest tree seedlings

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Cerrado (Brazilian woodland savannas) and seasonally dry forests (SDF) from southeastern Brazil occur under the same climate but are remarkably distinct in species composition. The objective of this study was to evaluate the role of soil origin in the initial growth and distribution of SDF and Cerrado species. We conducted a greenhouse experiment growing Cerrado and SDF tree seedlings over their soil and the soil of the contrasting vegetation type. We evaluated soil nutrient availability and seedling survivorship, growth and leaf functional traits. Despite the higher nutrient availability in SDF soils, soil origin did not affect seedling survivorship. The three SDF species demonstrated home-soil advantage, enhanced growth with increasing soil nutrient availability and had higher growth rates than Cerrado species, even on Cerrado soils. Growth of Cerrado seedlings was not higher on Cerrado soil and, overall, was not positively correlated with soil nutrient availability. SDF species are fast-growing species while Cerrado trees tend to be slow-growing species. Although savanna soil reduces growth of forest species, our findings suggest that soil chemical attributes, alone, does not exclude the occurrence of SDF seedlings in Cerrado and vice-versa.34941671SI341353Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)CNPq [200845/2008-0

NATURAL REGENERATION UNDER FOREST PLANTATIONS: "GREEN DESERTS" OR MILIEU FOR BIODIVERSITY?

Although commercial forest plantations have been termed "green deserts", several studies from the last two decades have reported the opposite. These studies suggest that forest plantations can catalyze the natural regeneration in their understory and, thus, contribute to biodiversity conservation. In order to obtain a wide and multi-faceted panorama of forest plantations and their potential contribution to biodiversity conservation and forest restoration, previous studies investigating natural regeneration under forest plantations have been reviewed, highlighting those carried out in Brazil. Methods and environmental conditions are quite variable among studies, making generalizations difficult. Nevertheless, results indicate that historical and environmental factors, such as canopy density and light availability, plantation age, forest species, distance from natural forests, silvicultural practices, and previous land use directly or indirectly affect natural regeneration richness, abundance and community structure under forest plantations. The reviewed studies, as a whole, reinforce the idea that commercial forest plantations can act as environments of biodiversity, at least for some life forms, and, in addition, can facilitate the restoration of native forests. Although the Brazilian studies are abundant, they have been restricted to a few regions and biomes and are mostly descriptive studies. Experimental studies focusing on specific factors that affect the natural regeneration dynamic under forest plantations as well as on management techniques in order to combine high production and biodiversity conservation are desirable. Nonetheless, other biomes and regions rather than those already studied, where forest plantation is a common land use, should be considered.20353355

Soil pH accounts for differences in species distribution and leaf nutrient concentrations of Brazilian woodland savannah and seasonally dry forest species

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Understanding the environmental factors shaping savannah and tropical forest boundaries is important to predict tropical vegetation responses to climate change and other human-mediated disturbances. To better understand the soil characteristics affecting the distribution of Cerraddo (Brazilian woodland savannah) and seasonally dry forest (SDF), two vegetation types occurring next to each other in a similar seasonal climate in south-eastern Brazil, we compared several leaf chemical and morphological traits associated with soil pH and resource availability of Cerraddo and SDF woody species. Leaf functional traits were measured for 25 Cerradao and 27 SDF species. We performed between-site comparisons with either all species pooled using phylogenetically independent contrasts or species shared between Cerraddo and SDF, as well as congeneric pairs. We found higher specific leaf area and leaf nitrogen, potassium, calcium and sulfur concentrations for SDF species. We did not find higher concentrations for leaf phosphorus and manganese (Mn) for SDF species, despite a higher concentration of these nutrients in SDF soil. Cerraddo plants had higher leaf iron (Fe), Mn and aluminium (Al) concentrations. For most of the traits assessed, variance was higher among species and genera than between sites. Nutrients with greater availability in the SDF soil did not invariably exhibit higher concentrations in the leaves of SDF species, indicating that these were not limiting for plant productivity. Higher concentrations in the leaves of Cerraddo species for Al, Fe and Mn are probably a consequence of lower soil pH, which increases the availability of these elements. In spite of the differences in belowground resources and the divergence for some traits between Cerradao and SDF, our results show high diversity in leaf functional traits within communities and a similarity of leaf functional traits in closely related species in the contrasting habitats. Besides, we surmise that soil pH is an important factor affecting Cerraddo and SDF species distribution, excluding SDF species from more acidic soils, because of the toxic effects of Al, and possibly also Mn and Fe. (C) 2014 Geobotanisches Institut ETH, Stiftung Ruebel. Published by Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.1626474Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Government of Brazil [Process 200845/2008-0]NSF-BASIN international visitor fellowshipCoordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)CNPq [Process 474670/2008-2]Government of Brazil [Process 200845/2008-0

Floristic and structural characterization of forest remnants in Quedas do Iguacu, Southeastern Parana

The Southwestern region of Parana State is an area of great ecological relevance because it represents an ecotone between two important forest types of the Brazilian south-southeastern region: the Seasonal Semideciduous Forest (SSF) and the Araucaria Forest (AF). Despite its importance, there is a lack of floristic surveys and vegetation studies in this region. In this study, we assessed floristic and structural attributes of the vegetation at three different native forest sites, located in Quedas do Iguacu, Parana State. Moreover, we made a phytogeografical characterization of the studied forests, based on the data we collected, and on the list of species surveyed in other 52 studies in SSF and AF of Brazil. Samples were taken using the point-centered-quarter method. All individuals with diameter at breast height >= 5 cm were identified to the species level. Together, 128 species were found. Within sites, the number of species varied from 63 to 78. The three areas are distinguished with respect to structure and most abundant species. In addition, the areas differed with respect to the degree of influence of SSF and AF on their floristic composition. Comparatively, the lower altitude area, located in Iguacu River's valley, has more elements of SSF on its floristic composition, while the other two areas, located in higher altitude areas, are more influenced by AF, with Araucaria angustifolia (Bertol.) Kuntze on their list of species.11111512

Protocol for monitoring tropical forest restoration: Perspectives from the atlantic forest restoration pact in Brazil

Monitoring protocols are needed to evaluate the millions of hectares of land that are being proposed for forest restoration in the coming decades. Standardized proposals are critical to evaluate efficacy of restoration strategies, identify triggers for corrective actions, compare results across projects, and generally learn from past projects to inform future restoration efforts. We describe an iterative process, including over 200 stakeholders, to develop a protocol for monitoring Brazilian Atlantic Forest restoration. We give an overview of the ecological, socioeconomic, and management criteria, indicators, and metrics included in the protocol. Strengths of the protocol include the following: (a) testing and use across sites with a range of ages, forest types, past land uses, restoration techniques, and implementing institutions; (b) participation by a broad range of government, nongovernment, private, and academic institutions in the protocol development process; and (c) inclusion of socioeconomic and management criteria. Next steps for facilitating the broad adoption of the protocol in the Atlantic Forest region include providing in person and online training courses, establishing an online repository for storing and comparing monitoring data, and developing smartphone applications to facilitate data collection. Although the protocol was developed for the Atlantic Forest context and further refinements are needed, we think that the Atlantic Forest Pact monitoring protocol may serve as a model to inform the development of similar protocols in other regions, which ultimately could be integrated to produce a pantropical protocol for common use by several restoration forest programs worldwide