Background:The zone of transition (ZOT) between the Cerrado and the Amazon forest in southern Amazonia represents a unique and rapidly shrinking area due to land-use change. Aims: To compare the dynamics and above-ground biomass of vegetation located in the ZOT with core Amazon forest and to determine how ZOT dynamics differ within vegetation types for different tree diameter classes. Methods: Censuses of trees were conducted in seven plots in monodominant forest, semi-deciduous seasonal forest, gallery forest, cerrado sensu stricto and cerradão, in north-eastern Mato Grosso, Brazil from 1996 to 2010, including data for the 2005 drought year. Separate analyses of stem dynamics and biomass were carried out for two different diameter (d) classes: 5 ≤ d < 10 cm and d ≥ 10 cm. Results: For trees with d ≥ 10 cm the average mortality rate was 2.8% year −1 , with an estimated above-ground dry biomass of 210 Mg ha −1 . Trees with 5 ≤ d < 10 cm constituted only a small fraction of the total biomass store (ca. 10 Mg ha −1 ) and had a mortality rate of 7.4% year −1 and recruitment of 6.5% year −1 . Overall, mortality and recruitment in the ZOT were greater than in core Amazonian forests (1-2% year −1 ). Conclusions:The distinct vegetation formations of the southern Amazon ZOT are markedly more dynamic than core Amazonian forest. Continued long-term monitoring throughout the region is required to assess whether they also respond differently to climate change.

ABSTRACT(Floristics of fl oodplain 'murundus' of the Pantanal of Araguaia, Mato Grosso, Brazil). Th is study aimed to compare angiosperm species richness and composition between fl oodplain 'murundus' (FM) of Araguaia State Park (ASP) in one of Brazil´s largest fl oodplains. ASP is located in Novo Santo Antônio, Mato Grosso state, and is bordered on the east by the Araguaia River, and on the west by Das Mortes River. Intensive fl oristic inventories were made on 11 hectares, and adjacent areas, of FM distributed over ASP. Environmental studies were performed by in situ descriptions. Th e soils are deep, mineral hydromorphic plinthosols, imperfectly to poorly drained, with low permeability. A total of 318 species, 193 genera and 66 families were collected, and FM values ranged from 51 to 135 species, 42 to 107 genera and 27 to 52 families. Erythroxylum suberosum is a typical species of Brazilian FM, Curatella americana typical of Mato Grosso FM and Byrsonima cydoniifolia typical of the ASP. Th e physical and spatial distribution pattern of the "murundus" (earthmounds) may refl ect the seasonal fl ood pulse, since the fl oristic composition of the FM varied between the areas under the infl uence of the rivers that border the park. Th is was the largest fl oristic inventory ever undertaken in FM, with a signifi cant increase in our knowledge and recording of typical species of the Cerrado Biome which occur in this phytophysiognomy.

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Abstract:The objective of the study was to investigate changes in the woody plant community in a four-year period. It was established 50 permanent plots of 10 × 10 m and all individuals with diameter above ground 30 cm (DAG 30 cm ) ≥ 5 cm were sampled in 2002 and 2006. In the inventory of January 2002, were found 945 individuals belonging to 77 species, 65 genera and 35 families and in January 2006, were 1,106 individuals, 80 species, 66 genera and 36 families. Community species diversity and diameter structure did not change within the period. Mortality rates (4.01% year , respectively), indicating the growth potential of such species as important for recovery strategies on degraded areas. The absence of fire during the study period may have been the main factor behind the dynamics of the vegetation of the studied cerrado, favoring the establishment of some woody species and providing increase in density and biomass. Keywords: savanna, structural changes, temporary alterations, mortality, recruitment. , respectivamente), indicando o potencial de crescimento de tais espécies como importante para estratégias de recuperação de áreas degradadas. A ausência de fogo no período estudado pode ter sido o fator responsável pela dinâmica da vegetação do cerrado estudado, favorecendo o estabelecimento de algumas espécies lenhosas e proporcionando aumento em densidade e biomassa. Palavras-chave: savana, mudanças estruturais, alterações temporais, mortalidade, recrutamento. MEWS

No abstract

Vegetation changes in transition zones are still poorly studied. Changes in the vegetation structure of a savanna forest (cerradão) were assessed in the Amazon-Cerrado transition (14º42'2.3"S; 52º21'2.6"W), eastern Mato Grosso, within a period of six years (2002, 2005 and 2008). In 2002, fifty plots of 10 × 10 m were set up, where all trees with DSH30 ≥ 5 cm were measured; in 2005 and 2008 the plots were re-inventoried. In 2008, 84 species from 70 genera and 37 families were sampled; absolute density was 1,998 individuals/ha and basal area was 25.95 m2.ha-1. On the one hand, the absolute density of live individuals decreased from 2005 to 2008 (2,066 individuals/ha); on the other hand, the basal area increased in 2008 compared to 2005 (23.56 m2.ha-1) and 2002 (1,884 individuals/ha and 21.38 m2.ha-1). The species with the highest importance value in the period were Hirtella glandulosa, Tachigali vulgaris and Xylopia aromatica. Except for these three species, all other species underwent hierarchic changes in the importance value, indicating that most species frequently alternate. Community structure exhibited changes throughout the period; hence, we suggest investigations on the role of T. vulgaris in these changes, since environmental conditions caused by gap opening from the fall of senile individuals of this pioneer species with a short life cycle may contribute to community dynamics.

30!Fire disturbance alters the structural complexity of forests, above-ground biomass stocks and 31! patterns of growth, recruitment and mortality that determine community temporal dynamics. 32!These changes may alter forest species composition, richness, and diversity. We compared impucas are embedded in a fire-adapted savanna landscape, the impucas vegetation appears to be 44! sensitive to fire, with burned areas having higher mortality and turnover than unburned areas. 45!This indicates that these forest islands are potentially at risk under increasing regional fire 46!frequency.

The relationships between floristic patterns and environmental variation in tropical savannas have been the focus of many studies worldwide. However, important aspects of these relationships, such as the role of geographic distance in structuring plant communities, have received little attention. We investigated the individual and combined influences of substrate, climatic, and spatial factors on the floristicstructural dissimilarity between two savanna physiognomies in the core region of Brazilian savannas: one on plain relief with deep soils and another on steep relief with shallow rocky soils. Ten 1-ha plots were sampled in each physiognomy. We modeled species abundance using multiple linear models and variance partitioning. Our results indicated that spatial processes that are intrinsically related to species variation have negligible effects on floristic variation. The most important predictors in our models were related to soil characteristics (mainly nutrient availability) and topography (relief and elevation). Consequently, the substrate component exhibited the greatest power (14%) in explaining the floristic-structural variation in the overall variance partitioning. Our results provide the first demonstration of the individual and combined contributions of substrate, climatic, and spatial factors to the occurrence and abundance of woody species in the most diverse and threatened savanna in the world. We also provide evidence that neutral processes might not be strong predictors of vegetation structure where savanna substrates differ greatly; instead, community structure may be primarily regulated by environmental filters.Abstract in Portuguese is available with online material.