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Stem radial increment of forest and savanna ecotypes of a Neotropical tree: relationships with climate, phenology, and water potential

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Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate differences in stem radial increment between the savanna and forest ecotypes of Plathymenia reticulata at an ecotonal site. It was hypothesised that even under similar climate conditions, the savanna and forest ecotypes exhibit differences in radial growth, phenology, and water status because of differences in wood density. Stem radial increment, phenology, and water potential were evaluated monthly. The radial increment was positively related to precipitation and displayed no increment (or decrement) in months with low rainfall. A negative relationship was observed between radial growth and wood density, with the forest ecotype exhibiting a higher radial increment than the savanna ecotype. Midday water potential (ΨMD) was also negatively related to wood density. Compared to the forest ecotype, the savanna ecotype displayed lower values of ΨMD during the dry season and started leaf senescence earlier at the beginning of the dry season. Leaf fall improved water status, resulting in leaf flushing even without a significant increase in rainfall. Radial growth significantly increased only after the crown leaf cover was completed. The results confirmed the importance of wood density in the differential responses of ecotypes in relation to growth, water status, and phenology.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Paulo Botosso, Ary Oliveira-Filho, Fernando Silveira, the reviewers and the editor for their valuable comments; Alistair Hayward and Luis Nogueira for help with English revisions; Bernardo Leopoldo, Renan Novaes, and Thiago Magalhães for help with the fieldwork; and Fernando Silveira, João B. Zonta, Adriano Paglia, and Marcelo Bueno for help with statistical analyses. The Instituto Estatudal de Florestas (IEF-MG) provided research facilities for the fieldwork. Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) granted a M.Sc. fellowship to MMT, and the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) supported this work and granted research fellowships to EASP and JPLF. We also thank the Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG) and the Pro-reitoria de Pesquisa da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (PrPq-UFMG) by financial support for this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Botânica, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, CEP 31270-901, Brazil

    Marcos Miranda Toledo, Elder Antônio Sousa Paiva & José Pires de Lemos Filho

  2. Embrapa Cocais, Centro de Pesquisa Agropecuária de Cocais e Planícies Inundáveis, Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, São Luis, CEP 65065-470, Maranhão, Brazil

    Marcos Miranda Toledo

  3. Departamento de Biologia Geral, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, CEP 31270-901, Brazil

    Maria Bernadete Lovato

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  1. Marcos Miranda Toledo
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  2. Elder Antônio Sousa Paiva
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  3. Maria Bernadete Lovato
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  4. José Pires de Lemos Filho
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Correspondence to José Pires de Lemos Filho.

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Communicated by A. C. Franco.

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Toledo, M.M., Paiva, E.A.S., Lovato, M.B. et al. Stem radial increment of forest and savanna ecotypes of a Neotropical tree: relationships with climate, phenology, and water potential. Trees 26, 1137–1144 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-012-0690-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-012-0690-y

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