Phenological studies of selected leaf and plant traits ofDidymochlaena truncatula(Dryopteridaceae) in a Brazilian submontane tropical rainforest

Abstract

. Professor Moraes R ê go, Recife, PE, Brasil. Th e phenology of the herbaceous fern Didymochlaena truncatula in a Brazilian submontane tropical rainforest is described. A total of 23 individuals were observed over 18 months (May 2012 to October 2013. Th e number of live leaves, leaf production, leaf mortality, leaf growth, and fertility were recorded monthly and correlated with local rainfall and temperature. Th e D . truncatula plants remained evergreen with a monthly mean of 6.49 Ϯ 0.75 leaves that were produced almost continuously at a rate of 6.13 Ϯ 1.46 leaves plant Ϫ1 year Ϫ1 . Th is rate was higher than the leaf mortality rate, which was 4.61 Ϯ 1.27 leaves plant Ϫ1 year Ϫ1 . Monthly leaf growth of the population was correlated with rainfall. Leaf expansion was fastest in the fi rst month after emergence (1.31 Ϯ 1.03 cm day Ϫ1 ). Fertility and leaf production intensity were not correlated with climate factors or seasonal variations. However, leaf mortality was negatively correlated with rainfall, causing variations in the number of leaves throughout the year. Th ese results show that the phenological rhythms of D . truncatula were not equally infl uenced by climate variations. Th e phenology of D . truncatula corresponds to the phenology of a small number of aseasonal tropical ferns.Phenology is the study of the periodicity of biological processes and their relationships with abiotic and biotic factors (Lieth 1974). Phenology is important because it refl ects how the environment aff ects the growth, development, and reproduction of plants. In addition, phenology is important for understanding the ecological interactions of plants and the effi ciency of applied management and conservation practices (Johnson-Groh and Lee 2002). Despite their importance, phenological studies are scarce for certain plant groups, such as ferns, which are important constituents of tropical rainforest understories (Sharpe andMehltreter 2010, Sharpe et al. 2010). According to Wagner and G ó mez (1983), abiotic factors may be the main determinants of phenological patterns in ferns, partially because of their independence from pollinators and dispersers.Climate seasonality is likely the most important factor that infl uences plant phenological patterns (Arroyo et al. 1981). Generally, ferns display seasonal phenological patterns in temperate (Odland 1995) and tropical habitats, particularly in regions with a well-defi ned dry season Palacios-Rios 2003, Mehltreter 2006). For example, diff erent isolated or combined factors cause these patterns, including water availability. Additionally, temperature and photoperiod variations may determine the seasonality of ferns. Intrinsic characteristics of the species may also aff ect their biological rhythms (Mehltreter 2008) and cause seasonal responses.In tropical regions, the complexity of habitats (and climate regimes) and the diversity of ferns can enable a better understanding of plant interactions through new phenological studies. Such studies can provide information on diff erent phe...

Fortuna Forest Reserve, Panama

“…This species has a pantropical distribution (Garcia and Salino, 2008) and was relatively abundant at Fortuna. Farias et al (2015) tested whether phenological patterns in D. truncatula were linked to temperature and rainfall in a lower montane forest in Brazil. No correlation was found between sterile or fertile leaf production and environmental factors, only leaf mortality and leaf growth per month were negatively correlated with rainfall.…”

The pros and cons of being broad: recent and future progress of Nordic Journal of Botany

“…Still, we have recently published important contributions in these latter fields, e.g. Li et al () and Yousefi et al () on molecular phylogeny, Moradi et al () on spatial plant ecology, Torres‐García et al () on the evolutionary consequences of herbicide resistant plants, Paiva Farias et al () on tropical phenology and Tang et al () on molecular evolution in hybrids. We also know that many authors have found that the advantages of publishing with Nordic Journal of Botany, including a relatively fast review processes, rigorous editorial processing and editing of accepted manuscripts, advertising on social media, and Nordic Journal of Botany being society‐owned and run on a non‐profit basis, well compensate for the relatively low IF.…”