Abstract
Cyathea corcovadensis (Raddi) Domin occurs in northeastern, southeastern and southern Brazil, being widely distributed in the last. This was a three-year study, conducted from August 2008 to July 2011, in which we evaluated C. corcovadensis in a subtropical forest in southern Brazil. For the first year (August 2008 to July 2009), we monitored 30 plants on a monthly basis in order to analyze phenological events (vegetative and reproductive) and caudex growth. We also estimated the ages of the plants. Except in June and July of 2009, monthly leaf emergence and senescence were continuous and irregular, which prevented total leaf abscission, during that first year. Leaf emergence, senescence and fertility correlated with photoperiod, temperature and plant height, whereas rainfall was not a good predictor of C. corcovadensis phenophase. Within the forest fragment studied, the high proportion of fertile individuals (63.3%) indicated that the population has the potential to increase in size. The mean annual caudex growth rate was 4.66-8.23 cm and was statistically equivalent among the three years evaluated. The number of leaves per plant remained stable throughout the study period. Among plants that were 4 m tall, the mean estimated age was 60.3 years when calculated on the basis of overall height and mean annual growth rate, compared with only 46.9 years when calculated on the basis of the number of total leaf scars or petiole remains on the caudex and mean annual leaf production.
Highlights
Tree ferns are prominent in tropical forest vegetation (Churchill et al 1998), little is known about their phenological characteristics or the environmental triggers that affect leaf emergence, senescence and fertility (Mehltreter & García-Franco 2008) in most neotropical tree fern species
Tree ferns are found in several genera (Sharpe & Mehltreter 2010), and two major families (Cyatheaceae and Dicksoniaceae) harbor the highest number of species (Fernandes 2003), accounting for approximately 180 species occurring in the Neotropics (Tryon & Tryon 1982) and 17 species in southern Brazil, seven of which occur in the state of Rio Grande do Sul (Condack 2013; Windisch & Santiago 2013)
Caudex growth and age estimation of Cyathea corcovadensis (Raddi) Domin (Cyatheaceae) in a subtropical forest in southern Brazil age can be estimated by measuring the increase in caudex height and assessing leaf emergence rates (Tanner 1983; Schmitt & Windisch 2006b; Sharpe & Mehltreter 2010)
Summary
Tree ferns are prominent in tropical forest vegetation (Churchill et al 1998), little is known about their phenological characteristics or the environmental triggers that affect leaf emergence, senescence and fertility (Mehltreter & García-Franco 2008) in most neotropical tree fern species. Caudex growth and age estimation of Cyathea corcovadensis (Raddi) Domin (Cyatheaceae) in a subtropical forest in southern Brazil age can be estimated by measuring the increase in caudex height and assessing leaf emergence rates (Tanner 1983; Schmitt & Windisch 2006b; Sharpe & Mehltreter 2010). In the Neotropics, studies including phenological data, caudex growth rates and age estimates for Cyatheaceae, restricted to a few species and sites, were conducted by Mehltreter & García-Franco (2008), in Mexico; by Conant (1976), Seiler (1981), Tanner (1983) and Bittner & Breckle (1995), in Central America; by Ortega (1984), Arens & Baracaldo (2000) and Arens (2001), in South America; and by Schmitt & Windisch (2001; 2003; 2006a; 2006b; 2007, 2012) and Lehn & Leuchtenberg (2008), in southern Brazil. To determine production and senescence rates, we counted the croziers, mature leaves (fully expanded green pinnae), fertile leaves, and senescent leaves
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