Arborescent palm seed morphology and seedling distribution

Abstract

This study examines how the seed morphology of two large arborescent palms, Attalea maripa (Aubl.) Mart. and Astrocaryum aculeatum G. Mey, may affect their seed shadow in a seasonally dry Amazonian forest. In addition to being smaller and produced in larger numbers than those of A. aculeatum, A. maripa seeds also presented a substantially lower amount of nutritional reserves available for the embryo. However, A. maripa seedlings were found in much higher numbers than those of A. aculeatum. The results suggest that, within the spatial scale considered, the seed rain of A. maripa is more restricted to the area surrounding around reproductive conspecifics than that of A. aculeatum. Furthermore, in comparison with those of A. aculeatum, the smaller seeds of A. maripa might be less attractive to scatterhoarding rodents (e.g. Dasyprocta aguti). The pattern observed emphasizes the importance of scatterhoarding rodents as dispersers of large-seeded plant species in Neotropical forests.

Population structure and density of Attalea phalerata Mart. ex Spreng. (Arecaceae) in a semideciduous forest

“…Also, for A. aculeatum no relationship was found between the amount of reproductive adults in the plots and the number of seedlings, when the author discussed areas with low and high density separately (SALM, 2005). In this study, the relationship between reproductive adults and number of seedlings may not have occurred due to our sampling design.…”

Morphoanatomy of the flower of Syagrus inajai (SPRUCE) Becc. (Arecaceae- Arecoideae- Attaleinae), Amazon

“…With just a few exceptions, palms are propagated by seeds, which present slow, unequal germination, influenced by various factors such as state of maturation, presence or absence of a pericarpium, time between harvesting and planting, physical dormancy, environmental temperature, and substrate (Meerow, 1991;Salm, 2005;Pivetta et al, 2008). Given that the seed is the main means of propagation and establishment of palm species, it is essential to understand the morphology and anatomy of the reproductive organs of the plant.…”

What is the influence of anthropogenic impact on the population structure of Attalea speciosa Mart. ex Spreng. in the Brazilian Amazonian region?

“…Generally, seedlings, juveniles, and adults resist fire, rapidly producing new leaves (Mitja et al 2018). Although large seeds, such as babassu seeds, have greater nutritional reserves and therefore a better chance of establishment (Salm 2005), fruits encountered in pastures, unlike those in forests, are unprotected and exposed to sunlight and fire, which may result in seed destruction (Mitja & Ferraz 2001). This could explain the lower number of seedlings (stage 1) in these open environments, while fruit production is higher in pastures than in forests (Campos et al 2017).…”