Floristic Composition Analysis of Soil Transposition in a Seasonal Forest in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Maureen de Moraes Stefanello,Bruna Balestrin Piaia,Roselene Marostega Felker,Eliara Marin Piazza,Ana Paula Moreira Rovedder,Emanuel Arnoni Costa

doi:10.1590/2179-8087.016317

Maureen de Moraes Stefanello, Bruna Balestrin Piaia + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/2179-8087.016317

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Abstract

This study aimed to identify the floristic composition and density of a seed bank transposed from a Seasonal Forest fragment in Rio Grande do Sul. The seed bank of the (BSI) fragment center and edge (BSII) of another forest fragment was also evaluated, both at medium to advanced successional stages. The seed bank was deposited in Brown-Gray Argisol and Red Argisol using exposed soil plots as control. ANOVA followed by Tukey test (p<0.05) were used to compare treatments for density and species richness. The density of individuals did not differ between treatments. Species richness was higher for BSI and BSII treatments in relation to control. The floristic composition presented different life forms, but was mainly composed of herbaceous species. It was concluded that the seed bank from the two donor areas contributed to the expansion of species richness in two soil types.

Highlights

Nucleation strategies for ecological restoration are promising because they initiate or facilitate secondary succession processes (Corbin & Holl, 2012)
Seed bank transposition is a nucleation technique that consists of removing the superficial soil layer and litter from a conserved donor area for later deposition on a degraded area with the same vegetal typology (Reis et al, 2014)
This superficial soil layer deposited on a degraded area serves as seed source, and can introduce abundance and species richness, establishing a new successional pattern (Zhang et al, 2001; Hall et al, 2010)

Summary

Introduction

Nucleation strategies for ecological restoration are promising because they initiate or facilitate secondary succession processes (Corbin & Holl, 2012). Seed bank transposition is a nucleation technique that consists of removing the superficial soil layer and litter from a conserved donor area for later deposition on a degraded area with the same vegetal typology (Reis et al, 2014). Soil transposition may increase the diversity of regional native species, genetic variability, and the chances of recruiting species adapted to adverse conditions (Reis et al, 2003; He et al, 2016). In this sense, many authors have emphasized the use of the seed bank as an efficient strategy for covering degraded or disturbed areas by including species of different forms of plant life (Tozer et al, 2012; Ferreira et al., 2015; Fowler et al, 2015). There is a worrying scenario of habitat fragmentation, loss of biological diversity and risk of species extinction due to anthropogenic activities related to poorly managed agriculture, livestock and urbanization

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