Leaf phenotypic variation of Allagoptera campestris (Mart.) Kuntze (Arecaceae) in response to unnatural disturbances in the Cerrado

Abstract

The Allagoptera campestris palm occurs naturally in open areas of the Brazilian Cerrado. The species grows in the pine understory and in areas under regeneration, where pine trees were removed, and the remaining material was burned. To verify if the persistence of this palm species in disturbed environments is related to its leaf phenotypic variation, we collected leaf samples of 10 plants from a natural Cerrado area, from a pine understory, and from an area under regeneration. In all sites, the leaves presented raphide‐containing idioblasts, which are described here for the first time for the Allagoptera genus. The plasticity index was high for all leaf traits analyzed. In pine understory, the plants have longer, slender leaves, with a lower stomatal index and lower values of net CO2 assimilation. In contrast, in the area under regeneration, plants fully exposed to sunlight form a larger number of smaller leaves with a thicker leaf blade and a higher stomatal index. The variations of leaf morphology and physiology support our hypothesis that the persistence of A. campestris relates to leaf adjustments to suit changes in light availability in the two unnatural Cerrado environments.