Do seedling functional groups reflect ecological strategies of woody plant species in Caatinga?
| Autor: | Tatiane G. C. Menezes, André Luiz Alves de Lima, Monalisa Alves Diniz da Silva Camargo Pinto, André Laurênio de Melo, Maria Jesus Nogueira Rodal, Lucivania Rodrigues Lima |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2017 |
| Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
dry forest seasonality Ecology Range (biology) Community structure environmental filtering Plant Science Rainforest Vegetation Biology 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences lcsh:QK1-989 Life history theory initial establishment recruitment Habitat lcsh:Botany Ecosystem functional traits 010606 plant biology & botany Woody plant |
| Zdroj: | Acta Botânica Brasílica, Iss 0 (2017) Acta Botanica Brasilica, Volume: 32, Issue: 1, Pages: 20-27, Published: 06 NOV 2017 Acta Botanica Brasilica v.32 n.1 2018 Acta Botanica Brasilica Sociedade Botânica do Brasil (SBB) instacron:SBB Acta Botanica Brasilica, Issue: ahead, Published: 06 NOV 2017 |
| ISSN: | 1677-941X 0102-3306 |
| DOI: | 10.1590/0102-33062017abb0198 |
| Popis: | It is assumed that morphological traits of seedlings reflect different strategies in response to environmental conditions. The ecological significance of this has been widely documented in rainforests, where habitat structure and species interactions play an important role in community assembly. However, in seasonally dry ecosystems, where environmental filtering is expected to strongly influence community structure, this relationship is poorly understood. We investigated this relationship between functional groups of seedlings and life history traits and tested whether functional group predicts the ecological strategies employed by woody species to deal with the stressful conditions in seasonally dry ecosystems. Seedling functional groups, life history traits and traits that reflect ecological strategies for occupying seasonally dry environments were described for twenty-six plant species. Seedlings of species from the Caatinga vegetation exhibited a functional profile different from that observed in rainforests ecosystems. Phanerocotylar-epigeal seedlings were the most frequently observed groups, and had the largest range of ecological strategies related to dealing with seasonally dry environments, while phanerocotylar-hypogeal-reserve seedlings exhibited an increase in frequency with seasonality. We discuss these results in relation to those observed in other tropical forests and their ecological significance in seasonally dry environments. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|