Significant gaps remain in understanding the response of plant reproduction to environmental change. This is partly because measuring reproduction in long-lived plants requires direct observation over many years and such datasets have rarely been made publicly available. Here we introduce MASTREE+, a data set that collates reproductive time-series data from across the globe and makes these data freely available to the community. MASTREE+ includes 73,828 georeferenced observations of annual reproduction (e.g. seed and fruit counts) in perennial plant populations worldwide.These observations consist of 5971 population-level time-series from 974 species in 66 countries. The mean and median time-series length is 12.4 and 10 years respectively, and the data set includes 1122 series that extend over at least two decades (≥20 years of observations). For a subset of well-studied species, MASTREE+ includes extensive replication of time-series across geographical and climatic gradients. Herewe describe the open-access data set, available as a.csv file, and we introduce an associated web-based app for data exploration. MASTREE+ will provide the basis for improved understanding of the response of long-lived plant reproduction to environmental change. Additionally, MASTREE+ will enable investigation of the ecology and evolution of reproductive strategies in perennial plants, and the role of plant reproduction as a driver of ecosystem dynamics.

This work augments research on masting for the economically important tropical tree Carapa guianensis Aublet, specifically on whether determinants of mast years vary regionally, spatially, and due to longer term ENSO climate patterns. Longer term measurements (an 11-year period in Acre and Roraima; 4 years and 8 months in Amapá) from three regions of the Brazilian Amazon allowed for the analysis of whether climate cues were regionally consistent for this species. We used generalized linear mixed models, to determine which factors were significant in predicting whether trees would produce in a given year and to model the seed production quantity. We found a positive effect of increasing the diameter at breast height (dbh) on the quantity and likelihood of seed production. Our results also suggested that ecosystems and climate cues may jointly affect seed production. In flooded forests, increases in dry season rainfall had a negative impact on the likelihood of seed production whilst none of the precipitation variables investigated influenced the quantity of seeds produced. In drier terra firme forests in Acre with extended dry seasons, increases in dry season precipitation had significant and positive impacts on both the likelihood and the quantity of seed production. Our results illustrate the importance of considering plant habitat and climate to better understand individual and regional differences in seed production and their responses to inter-annual climate variation.

Mais de 95% da produção brasileira de castanha-da-amazônia é oriunda da coleta extrativista sendo poucos os plantios para produção comercial. Buscando contribuir com informações básicas para o melhoramento genético da castanheira, este estudo teve por objetivos: estimar os coeficientes de repetibilidade para o número de frutos (NFP); determinar o número adequado de medições para uma eficiente seleção de matrizes; e, selecionar castanheiras promissoras em dois castanhais nativos, no Estado do Acre. O estudo foi realizado em parcelas permanentes no Filipinas (Resex Chico Mendes, Epitaciolândia-AC) e Cachoeira (PAE Chico Mendes, Xapuri-AC). O número de frutos por planta (NFP) foi avaliado em 140 castanheiras no Filipinas, no período de 2002 a 2014 (13 anos), enquanto no Cachoeira foram 175 castanheiras de 2009 a 2014 (seis anos). As análises genético-estatísticas foram feitas com base na metodologia de modelos mistos, utilizando-se o software Selegen-REML/BLUP, Modelo 63. Foram selecionadas 20 matrizes, sendo 08 no Filipinas e 12 no Cachoeira. Em ambos os castanhais, a variância fenotípica permanente (Vfp) representou a maior porcentagem da variância fenotípica individual (Vf). O coeficiente de repetibilidade foi considerado moderado para o Cachoeira e alto para o Filipinas. Considerando um coeficiente de determinação de 90%, seriam necessários sete anos de avaliação do NFP para o Cachoeira e seis anos para o Filipinas. O banco de dados existentes para a produção de frutos das castanheiras é suficiente para se realizar a seleção de matrizes com alta produção de frutos. Com base nos valores estimados espera-se que a nova população apresente uma produção média de 465,3 frutos.arv-1, indicando um ganho na produção de frutos cerca de 2,4 vezes para o Cachoeira e 4,2 para o Filipinas.

No estado do Acre, poucas cadeias produtivas apresentaram tantas mudanças quanto a da castanha-do-brasil nos últimos anos. Estas mudanças foram motivadas por uma sequência de políticas públicas direcionadas ao setor e pela estruturação de uma cooperativa central de produtores extrativistas. Esta nota de pesquisa analisa, com base em dados secundários e relatos de pessoas envolvidas nos diferentes elos da cadeia produtiva, aspectos econômicos referentes ao beneficiamento e à comercialização da castanha-do-brasil, com o objetivo de registrar e entender as principais mudanças estruturantes ocorridas nesta cadeia produtiva nos últimos dez anos.

Brazil nut tree (Bertholletia excelsa Bonpl) management, is a traditional activity that plays a key role in the economy of forestbased Amazon communities and in the conservation of forests. Nevertheless, some threats and critical points related to sustainability indicate to the need for establishment of monitoring procedures that can assist in the management of this natural resource. The overall aim of the research was to evaluate the MESMIS method as a tool to support the participatory definition of sustainability indicators to monitor Brazil nut management, and the viability of Brazil nut harvest over time. For that, we carried out a case study in the Porvir Community, RESEX Chico Mendes, Acre State (Brazil), aiming to integrate the perceptions of Brazil nut harvesters, researchers, managers, and technicians to define the indicators. The result was the generation of 18 strategic indicators to assess sustainability in the environmental, technical-economic and social dimensions. Assessment parameters, representing conditions that must be achieved for system sustainability, were collectively defined for each indicator. The main critical values attributed in the evaluation of the indicators are related to Brazil nut commercialization to intermediaries and oscillation in the annual fruit production. The use of the MESMIS method was considered appropriate to the studied context and can be recommended to similar non-timber forest product management systems.