Feijoa [Acca sellowaiana (O. Berg) Burret], also known as pineapple guava or goiabeira‐serrana, is a species of the Myrtaceae family native to southern Brazil and Uruguay. The genetic diversity of feijoa's natural populations has been studied and is relatively well‐documented; however, the genetic diversity of feijoa accessions in the largest active germplasm bank (AGB) in Brazil, and is still poorly documented. Characterizing and conserving pineapple guava accessions present in the AGB is essential for developing breeding programs and conserving the diversity of the species. Thus, the objective of this study was to characterize the genetic diversity of all accessions using eight microsatellite markers. The AGB collection includes accessions from 26 municipalities in Brazil, New Zealand, the United States, Israel, and Uruguay; selected clones, and selections of directed crossings, totaling 313 accessions. Genotyping 309 of these accessions with eight microsatellite markers revealed 119 alleles. Polymorphism information content (PIC) values varied between .466 (ASE40) and .890 (ASE34) with an overall mean of .718. This genotyping confirms the existence of two main types or biotypes in the species, denoted as the Uruguay type and Brazil type. Also, a significant proportion of the feijoa diversity, which is absent from the AGB‐Feijoa collection, is present in germplasm maintained by indigenous people, quilombola communities, federal conservation units, participatory genetic breeding, and areas of natural occurrence, thus reinforcing the need to introduce new accessions into São Joaquim's AGB‐Feijoa.

Spatial genetic structure, population dynamics and spatial patterns in the distribution of Ocotea catharinensis Mez. from southern Brazil: implications for conservation

This study investigated the vegetation and environmental variable of fragments at different successional stages in a secondary riparian forest in the municipality of Ponte Alta, Santa Catarina state, Brazil (27°29'00" S and 50°17'11" W, WGS84), aiming to list priority variables for monitoring forest succession in riparian forests. For this, two areas were identified: "Reference" (conserved secondary forest) and "Restoration" (secondary forest under passive restoration). The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) indicated the existence of differences in the arboreal community diversity with lower values for the "Restoration" synthesized by PC1. The ground coverage by Ocellochloa rudis (Nees) Zuloaga & Morrone (Poaceae) was mainly in places with higher pH values and ability for effective cation exchange, with no preference of occurrence in either evaluated site. The composition of arboreal diversity was a relevant variable for monitoring passive restoration in this environment.

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Monitoring successional advancement is a complex field involving a constant search for applied ecological indicators which facilitate monitoring of secondary forests for both active and passive restoration. In this study, the authors investigate the successional advancement of floristics and tree structure within Araucaria Forest (AF) fragments under passive restoration in a context where exotic tree plantations (mainly Pinus L. genus) dominate the landscape. The ecological indicators used were floristic dissimilarity (β-diversity inferences), indicator species, ecological groups of species, basal area, and species abundance distribution (SAD) models (α-diversity inferences). A total of 182 tree species belonging to 91 genera and 43 botanical families were identified. A high β diversity was verified for which each site has indicator species (for the locations CD-Dicksonia sellowiana; CO-Cryptocarya aschersoniana; and PG-Pinus taeda), where pioneer species contributed to much of the abundance. Different SAD models are useful for describing passive restoration sites in exotic tree plantation landscapes, namely Lognormal, Mandelbrot, and Zipf. SAD models together with basal area, taxonomic group (e.g. Myrtaceae assemblage), and tree abundance in ecological groups are strategic ecological indicators for monitoring successional advancement in AF.