Pulse treatments to extend the postharvest life of Ctenanthe setosa cut foliage

Marantaceae leaves have a contrasting color pattern and a decorative design which are interesting traits for its use as cut foliage. No postharvest research has been carried out on the potential as cut foliage for species of Ctenanthe, a member of the Marantaceae. Grey-maranta (Ctenathe setosa) is an herbaceous ornamental plant native of Brazil whose cut foliage has potential to be used as new crop product for local and international ornamental markets. The objective of this study was to evaluate pulse treatments to extend the longevity of foliage. The experiment was conducted in a complete randomized design with three replications and eight treatments: distilled water; pulsing cut petioles-ends in citric acid (pH = 2.8/1h); 2% sucrose (4h); 1% sucrose plus 200 mg L-1 citric acid (4h); 0.01% Tween® 20 (4h); 100 mg L -1 benzyladenine plus 0.01% Tween® 20 (4h); 100 mg L-1 gibberellic acid plus 0.01% Tween® 20 (4h); and maintenance of cut petiole in holding solution with commercial sodium hypochlorite (0.5 mL L-1). The senescence symptoms were mainly characterized by leaf rolling and by a decrease in the angle formed between leaf and petiole as a response to water deficit stress. Gibberellic acid or benzyladenine pulse treatments significantly extended longevity (6 days compared to control) and maintained leaves' green coloration and brightness for a longer time compared to control. However, only the benzyladenine plus Tween® 20 pulse maintained leaves in an erect form for a longer time, showing a significantly higher angle between leaf and petiole compared to control. Also, foliage pulsed with benzyladenine plus Tween® 20 showed a significant smallest loss of accumulated fresh mass percentage compared to control by the T test as to parallelism of treatments lines.

Composição florística e estrutura fitossociológica de dois fragmentos de floresta de restinga no Município de Bertioga, SP, Brasil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Gap disturbance regime and composition in the Atlantic Montane Rain Forest: the influence of topography

In the Atlantic Montane Rain Forest of south-eastern Brazil, a field study was carried out to describe the forest disturbance regime, analyse canopy gap composition and evaluate the influence of habitat parameters on gap tree species composition. We characterized canopy gaps considering the group of variables as follows: area, type and number of tree/branch falls, topographic position, soil coverage and surrounding canopy trees. Gap composition was assessed at species level by measuring all individuals inside gaps higher than one meter. Mean gap area of the 42 canopy gaps analysed was 71.9 +/- 9.0 m(2) (mean +/- SE). Out of the studied gaps, 35.7% were created by uprooted and by snapped trees, 16.7% by dead-standing trees and 11.9% by the fall of large branches. The disturbance regime was characterized by gap openings predominantly smaller than 150 m(2) and by spatial patterning related to topography. Ridges had smaller gaps and higher proportions of gaps created by branch falls; slopes had bigger gaps generally created by uprooting events. The more abundant and frequent species were shade tolerant and the more species-rich families found inside gaps did not differ from the forest as a whole. Pioneer species were rare and restricted to medium and large size classes. The Indicator Species Analysis and the Canonical Correspondence Analysis indicated gap area, topography and the percentage of soil cover by the genera Calathea and Ctenanthe were the predominant variables correlated with woody species distribution. So, topography emerged as an important issue not only to the gap disturbance regime, but also to gap colonization. In respect to the influence of gap processes on the Atlantic Montane Rain Forest regeneration, our results support the view that canopy gap events may not be working as promoters of community wide floristic shifts.

Estrutura populacional de fetos arborescentes (Cyatheaceae, monilophyta) no parque estadual Carlos Botelho, SP

As samambaias arbóreas têm alta representatividade dentro do ecossistema de Mata Atlântica, mas poucas são as indicações de estudos a respeito da ecologia dessa guilda vegetal. No presente trabalho fez-se um levantamento das espécies ocorrentes na parte alta do Parque Estadual ―Carlos Botelho‖, em vista da ausência na literatura de diferenciações e quantificações de suas populações para o Parque. Definiu-se a distribuição dos indivíduos por classes de altura e a organização espacial, como elementos para a descrição das populações de samambaiaçus ocorrentes na área, destacando-se alguns parâmetros do ambiente físico e as diferenças na paisagem, que favorecem o seu desenvolvimento. Foram demarcadas 60 parcelas de 5 x 20m, em três trilhas distintas, sendo alocadas 30 parcelas no ambiente de fundo de vale e 30 na encosta. Foram identificados e medidos todos os fetos arborescentes que apresentavam troncos visíveis, sendo distribuídos em classes de altura. Para a avaliação da distribuição espacial utilizou-se a Relação Variância/Média, o Índice de Morisita e o Índice de Morisita Padronizado. Os parâmetros de habitat medidos foram a cobertura de dossel e a umidade do solo e da serrapilheira. Através do teste T-student comparou-se as densidades das populações entre o fundo de vale e a encosta, assim como as diferenças entre os parâmetros de habitat medidos em cada ambiente e trilha. Foram amostrados 247 indivíduos, sendo 83 de Alsophila setosa, 63 de Cyathea phalerata, 32 de C. delgadii, 11 de C. dichromatolepis, 10 de A. sternbergii e 4 de C. corcovadensis. A maioria das espécies apresentou um maior número de indivíduos nas classes de menor tamanho, indicando que as populações possuem grande capacidade de regeneração natural na área. Todas as espécies apresentaram padrão de ...(Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo)