The objective of this search was to quantify the genetic variability in progenies from grápia mother trees in natural populations, for initial growth characters of the seedlings. Seeds were collected from 13 mother trees, from four origins, located in the municipalities of Pareci Novo, São José do Sul and Aratiba in RS, and Seara in SC, as well as data from plants and place of origin. Biometrics were performed on 100 seeds lot from each mother tree, and an experiment was installed to evaluate progenies in a completely randomized design. It was evaluated the seedling emergence speed and the emergence percentage, the stem diameter and seedlings height, as well as the final survival percentage. A significative difference was found for all variables observed for seeds and seedlings of grápia mother trees. Seed length and width demonstrated high values for individual heritability in the narrow sense (above 0.6), being possible to use the seed size for an analysis of genetic variability between plants of the species, but not as an indicative variable of physiological quality and vigor. The correlation analysis indicated that the seedling emergence percentage is related to the characteristics of the mother plant plant (height and diameter). Thus, the use of seedlings for forest restoration areas is appropriate, as they have indications of genetic diversity.

The rooting process of sequoia minicuttings presents clonal infl uence. The average rooting is over 85% in all seasons. The rooting of minicuttings occurs between 50 and 70 days. It is indicated the presence of 90 days of minicuttings in the rooting environment.

Sequoia sempervirens (D. Don) Endl. é uma conífera que produz madeira de elevada qualidade, com potencial de aplicação na indústria. No entanto, a espécie exibe baixas taxas de germinação. Este estudo foi dedicado à otimizar um protocolo para a multiplicação de brotos de S. sempervirens, através da micropropagação. Dois genótipos, adaptados ao Sul do Brasil, foram a fonte de explantes para o estudo da multiplicação in vitro. Utilizou-se o meio de cultura MS (Murashige Skoog) (50% de sua concentração original) complementado com reguladores de crescimento sob duas abordagens. Para a multiplicação, foram combinados ácido α-naftaleno acético (ANA) e 6-benzilaminopurina (BAP), em concentrações distintas. No segundo experimento foram testadas, separadamente, três concentrações de cintinas (BAP, cinetina  e 2-isopentenladenina). ANA , na concentração 0,1 mg L-1, permitiu a produção de brotos com maior comprimento médio do ramo principal. O uso de cinetina, em baixas concentrações, proporcionou o melhor desempenho para a multiplicação de brotos, mas com desempenhos distintos, de acordo com o genótipo. Descrevemos uma recomendação dos reguladores de crescimento de plantas mais adequados e suas concentrações para a multiplicação de brotos de S. sempervirens, o que pode auxiliar trabalhos voltados para enraizamento e aclimatização adventícia.

Ecological succession is one of the most important processes in forest ecosystems, still poorly understood in the highland Araucaria forests of Southern Brazil. Here we investigated this process by describing functional composition changes in response to a vegetation successional mosaic in four forest fragments in the municipality of Urubici, State of Santa Catarina, Brazil. Two fragments were classified as in advanced stage of succession and two were classified in early stage. The following functional traits were determined: wood density, leaf area, specific leaf area, dispersal syndrome and leaf phenology. For each fragment, we determined the community weighted mean (CWM) and the functional diversity (RaoQ). Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, t and Mann-Whitney tests and Principal Components Analysis. We found that the successional stage is a relevant source of functional heterogeneity. At the advanced-successional stage, tree communities have harder woods, more membranous and semi-deciduous leaves and higher functional diversity. Conversely, at the early successional stages, forests have softer wood, more coriaceous leaves and lower functional diversity. We concluded that the studied forests showed a high functional composition heterogeneity, partially determined by a successional mosaic. While perennial species with lower values of specific leaf area and wood density predominated in the early successional areas, semi-deciduous species with higher values of specific leaf area and wood density prevailed in the late successional ones.

Sequoia sempervirens is a fast-growing, long-lived tree with pest-resistant wood. The objective of this study was to quantify the adventitious rooting ability of sequoia clones in two environments as well as determining rooting behavior during the evaluation period. Mini-cuttings of five clones grown in a clonal mini-garden were planted for rooting in two different environments: a minitunnel and an intermittently fogging greenhouse. Weekly assessments (from 30 to 93 days) of the variables were performed: survival, rooted mini-cuttings and number of roots emitted. Rooting speed varied in relation to the clones, occurring mainly between 50 and 60 days after planting, with the appearance of new roots between 70 and 80 days. The cultivation environment promoted distinct responses in the rooting process, being earlier in the greenhouse environment, although with a higher index in the mini-tunnel at the end of the evaluation. The process of differentiation of mini-cuttings occurs initially with the formation of calluses, around 15 days, followed by rooting (between 30 and 60 days) and the subsequent appearance of new roots. The rooting of sequoia mini-cuttings can be done in a mini-tunnel, with good indexes for all clones. It is recommended to keep mini-cuttings in this environment for 90 days for good root formation.