Drought resistance in seedlings tree species of semideciduous tropical forest / Resistência à seca em plântulas de espécies arbóreas da floresta estacional semidecídua

AUTOR(ES)
FONTE

IBICT - Instituto Brasileiro de Informação em Ciência e Tecnologia

DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

17/06/2011

RESUMO

The rainfall is high in tropical forests, but there is great variation in water availability to plants. On a local scale, this availability may vary depending on the location of individuals in gaps, their position in the landscape and soil composition. On a regional scale, variations related to the volume and distribution of rainfall, coupled with seasonal climatic changes, can also generate different water stress conditions, increasing the mortality rates of tree species most sensitive, especially at the seedling stage. Considering the global scenario of climatic changes, it is imperative to understand the mechanisms that determine the ecology of communities of tropical forests, especially in relation to patterns of rainfall and drought. We examined different strategies of drought resistance of seedlings of tree species, to determine the organization of the community and the contribution of water availability to the selection of species in these forests. The first chapter presents a review of the principal studies available on strategies for drought resistance in seedlings of tree species and the possible theoretical approaches, demonstrating the increasing importance of these studies for understanding the processes that determine the distribution, abundance and species coexistence in tropical forests. The differences between wet and dry tropical forests, in view of the low number of species in common and the different degrees of drought resistance presented by the tree species present, show a clear differentiation of niches. Species more resistant to drought present higher abundance in drier sites, compared to more sensitive species, at local and regional levels. Strategies for drought resistance may be of two kinds: desiccation tolerance and avoidance of desiccation. In the seedling stage tolerance strategies seem to be more crucial for resistance to drought, especially the presence of characteristics that confer tolerance to low water potentials, as resistance to cavitation. In the second chapter we investigated the hypothesis that there is a relationship between the existence of abundant species only at certain sites of the semi-deciduous forest and the presence of physiological strategies of gas exchange related to drought resistance. We evaluated the gas exchange process and desiccation and regrowth of plants of four species (Esenbeckia leiocarpa, Astronium graveolens, Croton floribundus and Aegiphila selowiana), during a sudden drought experiment in a greenhouse. E. leiocarpa, A. graveolens are late-successional species and C. floribundus and A. selowiana are pioneers species. We found greater resistance to drought in the most abundant and latesuccessional species. The drought resistance was associated with lower rates of gas exchange. Species with higher photosynthetic efficiency showed lower resistance to drought. These species occur most abundantly on sites less shaded, reinforcing the theory of a trade off between investment in drought resistance and ability to use light. The seasonal availability of water, similarly to differences between light of different eco-units, can explain species coexistence in the tropical seasonal forest

ASSUNTO(S)

tolerância à dessecação evitação à dessecação troca gasosa estação seca desiccation tolerance avoiding of desiccation gas exchange dry season

ACESSO AO ARTIGO

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