Hostname: page-component-84b7d79bbc-tsvsl Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-25T11:23:58.773Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Positive association between Bromelia balansae (Bromeliaceae) and tree seedlings on rocky outcrops of Atlantic forest

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 December 2014

Fernando Souza Rocha ,
Leandro da Silva Duarte  and
Jorge Luiz Waechter
Fernando Souza Rocha*
Affiliation:
Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, EMBRAPA Cerrados, BR 020, Km 18, CEP 73310-970, Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brasil
Leandro da Silva Duarte
Affiliation:
Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Bento Gonçalves, 9500, CEP 91501-970, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil
Jorge Luiz Waechter
Affiliation:
Departamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Bento Gonçalves, 9500, CEP 91501-970, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil
*
1Corresponding author. Email: fernando.rocha@embrapa.br
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract:

Plant facilitation can improve the diversity of plant communities in several ecosystems, especially in stressful environments. The establishment of tree species on rocky outcrops can be limited by several biotic and abiotic factors. The richness and abundance of forest trees species on rocky outcrops surrounded by a large forest remnant in south Brazil were correlated with the cover of Bromelia balansae, a spiny stoloniferous species commonly occurring at forest–grassland transitions. Sixty plots were established on three flat rocky outcrops (20 in each). In each plot the coverage of bromeliads was estimated into three classes (0%, 1–50% and 51–100%) and all seedlings (individuals 10–30 cm in height) were counted and identified. ANOVAs with randomization tests were performed to establish the effect of different bromeliad cover classes on the richness and abundance of seedlings. The cover of bromeliads was positively related to the richness and abundance of young pioneer tree species. Evidence suggests that B. balansae can act as a nurse plant for tree seedlings, but manipulative experiments are needed to confirm this.

Keywords

bromeliadsfacilitationseasonal foresttree seedlingsTurvo State Park
Type
Short Communication
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 31 , Issue 2 , March 2015 , pp. 195 - 198
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

LITERATURE CITED

ANDERSON, M. J. & TER BRAAK, C. J. F. 2003. Permutation tests for multi-factorial analysis of variance. Journal of Statistical Computation and Simulation 73:85–113.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
ARAGON, S. & WOODCOCK, D. W. 2010. Plant community structure and conservation of a Northern Peru sclerophyllous forest. Biotropica 42:262–270.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
BARBERIS, I. M., BOCCANELLI, S. I. & ALZUGARAY, C. 2011. Terrestrial bromeliads as seed accumulation microsites in a xerophytic forest of Southern Chaco, Argentina. Bosque 32:57–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
CALLAWAY, R. M., KIKODZE, D., CHIBOSHVILI, M. & KHETSURIANI, L. 2005. Unpalatable plants protect neighbors from grazing and increase plant community diversity. Ecology 86:1856–1862.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
CARLUCCI, M. B., DUARTE, L. D. S. & PILLAR, V. D. 2011. Nurse rocks influence forest expansion over native grassland in southern Brazil. Journal of Vegetation Science 22:111–119.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DECKMYN, G., CAYENBERGHS, E. & CEULEMANS, R. 2001. UV-B and PAR in single and mixed canopies grown under different UV-B exclusions in the field. Plant Ecology 154:123–133.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
ESPELETA, J. F., WEST, J. B. & DONOVAN, L. A. 2004. Species-specific patterns of hydraulic lift in co-occurring adult trees and grasses in a sandhill community. Oecologia 138:341–349.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
ESPINOSA, C. I., LUZURIAGA, A. L., DE LA CRUZ, M. & ESCUDERO, A. 2014. Climate and grazing control nurse effects in an Ecuadorian dry shrubby community. Journal of Tropical Ecology 30:23–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
FIDELIS, A., OVERBECK, G. E., PILLAR, V. D. & PFADENHAUER, J. 2009. The ecological value of Eryngium horridum in maintaining biodiversity in subtropical grasslands. Austral Ecology 34:558–566.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
GOMEZ-APARICIO, L., ZAMORA, R., CASTRO, J. & HODAR, J. A. 2008. Facilitation of tree saplings by nurse plants: microhabitat amelioration or protection against herbivores? Journal of Vegetation Science 19:161–172.Google Scholar
HAY, J. D., DELACERDA, L. D. & TAN, A. L. 1981. Soil cation increase in a tropical sand dune ecosystem due to a terrestrial bromeliad. Ecology 62:1392–1395.Google Scholar
HE, Q. & BERTNESS, M. D. 2014. Extreme stresses, niches, and positive species interactions along stress gradients. Ecology 95:1437–1443.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
PILLAR, V. D. 2006. MULTIV: multivariate exploratory analysis, randomization testing and bootstrap resampling. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre. 51 pp.Google Scholar
PILLAR, V. D. & ORLÓCI, L. 1996. On randomization testing in vegetation science: multifactor comparisons of relevé groups. Journal of Vegetation Science 7:585–592.Google Scholar
REITZ, R. 1983. Bromeliáceas e a malária-bromélia endêmica. Pp. 1–559 in Reitz, R. (ed.). Flora Ilustrada Catarinense. Herbário Barbosa Rodrigues, Itajaí.Google Scholar
RUSCHEL, A. R., NODARI, R. O. & MOERSCHBACHER, B. M. 2007. Woody plant species richness in the Turvo State Park, a large remnant of deciduous Atlantic forest, Brazil. Biodiversity and Conservation 16:1699–1714.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
SCARANO, F. R. 2009. Plant communities at the periphery of the Atlantic rain forest: rare-species bias and its risks for conservation. Biological Conservation 142:1201–1208.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
SEMA. 2005. Plano de manejo do Parque Estadual do Turvo. Divisão de Unidades de Conservação do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre. 348 pp.Google Scholar
SMITH, L. B. & DOWNS, R. J. 1979. Bromelioideae (Bromeliaceae). Flora Neotropica Monograph 14:1493–2142.Google Scholar
THORPE, A. S., ARCHER, V. & DELUCA, T. H. 2006. The invasive forb, Centaurea maculosa, increases phosphorus availability in Montana grasslands. Applied Soil Ecology 32:118–122.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
YODER, C. K. & NOWAK, R. S. 1999. Hydraulic lift among native plant species in the Mojave Desert. Plant and Soil 215:93–102.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
ZALUAR, H. L. T. & SCARANO, F. R. 2000. Facilitação em restingas de moitas: Um século de buscas por espécies focais. Pp. 3–23 in Esteves, F. A. & Lacerda, L. D. (eds.). Ecologia de restingas e Lagoas Costeiras. NUPEM, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro.Google Scholar