Reproductive phenology of the cerrado plant community in Emas National Park (central Brazil)

Abstract

The cerrado, a savanna-like formation, is the second-most widespread vegetation type in Brazil. Its core region occupies the Brazilian Central Plateau, with a seasonal climate, including wet summer and dry winter. We studied the reproductive phenological patterns of the cerrado plant community in Emas National Park (central Brazil). Monthly field trips revealed 601 species, classified, according to their dispersal syndromes, into anemo-, auto-, or zoochorous species, when they were dispersed by wind, explosion or gravity, or animals, respectively. We analysed the flowering and fruiting patterns of the community in relation to dispersal syndromes, comparing the herbaceous and the woody components. The herbaceous component was characterised by a majority of autochorous species, and the woody component, by a majority of zoochorous species. There was a striking seasonality in the community-wide pattern of flowering and fruiting, although this was different between the herbaceous and the woody components. Woody species flowered mainly during late dry and early wet seasons, whereas herbaceous species flowered especially during late wet season. In the dry season, when their diaspores can be dispersed more efficiently, the proportions of anemo- and autochorous fruiting species were higher. During the rainy season, when their fruits can be kept attractive for longer time, the number of fruiting zoochorous species reached its peak.

Post-fire reproduction of herbs at a savanna-gallery forest boundary in Distrito Federal, Brazil

“…Reproduction of cerrado species peaked about seven months after fire, at the end of the rainy season, which is expected in a seasonal vegetation, such as Cerrado (Batalha and Martins, 2004). The change in the observation interval of the reproductive events (from fortnightly to bimonthly) might have subsampled the community phenological patterns, but our results agree with Munhoz and Felfili (2007) and Tannus et al (2006), which indicated a peak of flowering for the herbaceous community at the end of rainy season.…”

“…In the absence of fire, most herbs tend to grow and reproduce during the wet season (Sarmiento, 1984;Batalha and Martins, 2004). Thus, a fire that occurs in the dry season would remove the dry biomass (Ramos-Neto and Pivello, 2000) and stimulate a fast recovery of the non-woody species after the first rains (Gottsberger and Silberbauer-Gottsberger, 2006;Munhoz and Amaral, 2010).…”

Evolution of seed dispersal in the Cerrado biome: ecological and phylogenetic considerations

“…It has been demonstrated that anemo and autochorous species produce fruits mainly in the dry season, since this period provides favorable conditions for the drying process and fruit dehiscence to release the seeds, while zoochorous species generally produce fruits during the rainy season, when fleshy fruits can keep attractive for longer time. On the other hand, dry zoochorous fruits, such as in Copaifera and Hymenaea, tend to produce fruits during the dry season (Batalha & Mantovani 2000;Batalha & Martins 2004;Gottsberger & Silberbauer-Gottsberger 2006). As a vegetation that is susceptible and conditioned by fire (Coutinho 1990), especially savannas and grasslands, this is another factor that can play selective pressure on fruit types in Cerrado.…”

The effect of size and density on nut removal in Syagrus loefgrenii Glassman (Arecaceae) in the Brazilian Cerrado

“…In marked seasonal areas, one can expect that large nuts might offer enhanced energetic return and should be preferred by foraging rodents, mainly when food availability is relatively high (Brewer, 2001). This might be the case during the wet season when fruiting is plentiful (Batalha and Martins, 2004;Munhoz and Felfili, 2007;Ragusa-Netto and Silva, 2007). On the other hand, in periods of low fruit availability, nut size may become unimportant in the selection of seeds by foraging rodents under food shortage.…”