Abstract
Abstract Information on plant phenological patterns aids in understanding the structure and functioning of ecosystems and support restoration projects in degraded areas. The aim of this study was to characterize the reproductive phenology of Avicennia germinans and Laguncularia racemosa in a mangrove forest in the Mamanguape River estuary in northeastern Brazil. The characterization was performed monthly from July 2016 to June 2017. We applied circular statistics to detect seasonal trends, calculated intra-specific synchrony, and performed regressions between the reproductive phenophases and the abiotic variables. Avicennia germinans exhibits seasonal responses to floral buds, flowers at anthesis, and fruit, with one reproductive episode per year (annual pattern). Laguncularia racemosa has no seasonal response, with one reproductive episode per year for floral buds (annual pattern) and two episodes for flowers at anthesis and fruits (subannual pattern). Reproductive phenophases of A. germinans exhibited higher intra-specific synchrony than L. racemosa. We provide evidence that temperature, solar radiation and rainfall are important drivers of the flowering rhythm in both species. In conclusion, the results of this study showed that the species exhibited different phenological responses, even though they were subjected to the same abiotic conditions.
Highlights
Reproductive phenology of tropical plants and its dependence on abiotic factors have been analyzed for several ecosystems (Morellato et al 2013; Rodríguez-Gallego & Navarro 2015; Ulsig et al 2017)
The objective of this study was to characterize of the reproductive phenology of A. germinans and L. racemosa in the mangroves of the Mamanguape River estuary to answer the following questions: (1) Do these species flower and fruit seasonally? (2) Do reproductive patterns vary between species? (3) Do reproductive phenophases exhibit intraspecific synchrony and depend on abiotic factors? Phenological information, which is required to understand the geographic variability of phenological responses to environmental factors, remains scarce for many tropical trees
The results of this study showed that intraspecific synchrony was high for both species, though it was higher in A. germinans than in L. racemosa
Summary
Reproductive phenology of tropical plants and its dependence on abiotic factors have been analyzed for several ecosystems (Morellato et al 2013; Rodríguez-Gallego & Navarro 2015; Ulsig et al 2017). Complex interactions between abiotic and biotic factors control plant reproductive phenology (Wolkovich et al 2014). The air temperature, and solar radiation (Nadia et al 2012; Couralet et al 2013; Wolkovich et al 2014; Borchert et al 2015), whereas biotic factors are related to pollinators, dispersers, and morphological/physiological adaptations (Liebsch & Mikich 2009; Wolkovich et al 2014). Nadia et al (2012) showed that rainfall and temperature drive the flowering and fruiting rhythm of the mangrove species. In some cases the reproductive phenophases of mangrove species has exhibited little or no relationship with abiotic variables (Wang’ondu et al 2013; Kamruzzaman et al 2019)
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