Name: JEHOVÁ LOURENÇO JUNIOR
Type: PhD thesis
Publication date: 24/08/2018
Advisor:
Name |
Role |
|---|---|
| Camilla Rozindo Dias Milanez | Advisor * |
Examining board:
| Name |
Role |
|---|---|
| Camilla Rozindo Dias Milanez | Advisor * |
| Danilo Rafael Mesquita Neves | External Alternate * |
| Erica Newman | External Alternate * |
| Geraldo Rogério Faustini Cuzzuol | Internal Examiner * |
| Jose Aires Ventura (M/D) | Internal Examiner * |
| Scott Saleska | External Examiner * |
Summary: Recognized by its high environmental diversity, the Paulo Cesar Vinha State Park (PEPCV) is suggested to be a model system to the study of the impact of climate change over the biodiversity, and to test the ecological theories (e.g. Niche and Neutral theory). The use of novel ecological theories recently created (Trait-based driver theory and the multidimensional hypervolume) may provide a better understanding about the impact of climate change over the biodiversity and the assembly mechanisms structuring the biodiversity in forests. We setup 42 plots (5 to 25 meters) in a patch of restinga from PEPCV to describe the taxonomic composition of the study area. From January to May 2016 we collected leaves and branches to perform the trait-based ecology survey. We collected several soil samples of each plot to quantify several physicochemical parameters and the soil humidity. Moreover, the water table depth was measured. All the environmental parameters were used to understand the restinga forest functioning. We collected: specific leaf area, leaf dry matter content, stomatal density, leaf thickness, plant height and diameter at the breast height, xylem density, mean xylem area, potential hydraulic conductivity (Ks), bending resistance (bend), vessel grouping index, solitary vessel fraction, and proportions of fibers, parenchyma and conductive area. The dataset was analyzed through novel ecological tools and theory hypervolume analysis and the trait-based driver theory. The outcomes show that the water table depth (WT) is the main driver of restinga species distribution, and soil coarseness and WT are the main drivers of restinga forest physiognomy. Aluminum had a negative effect on forest biomass. We suggest that salinity exerts an important role in the restinga forest functioning. The moments of trait distribution show a transition in the functional composition the plant communities, ranging from setup of traits of conservative strategies (drier site) to acquisitive traits setup (floodable communities). The forests wood anatomy composition variation along the water availability gradient is consistent to the safety-efficiency tradeoff proposed by the coercion-tension theory. We suggested a new model explain the Ks variance, which is based on Bittencourt et al. (2016) model. We conclude that restinga is a model system to assess the effect of environmental gradients and the impact of climate
change on the forest functioning. Restinga of PEPCV is an unique natural laboratory to assess timely ecological questions.
