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Abstract
In flood-driven environments the life cycles of organisms are regulated in function of the water regime. The objective of this work is to analyse the phenophases of flowering and fructification of two species of amphibious aquatic macrophytes, Polygonum hispidum Kunth and P. punctatum Elliott, with regard to the flooding cycle of the Brazilian Pantanal. We collected monthly data in 26 plots of 20 ponds during two years. The flooding phases were classified as drought, rising, flood, and receding. The periods with an abundance of water (rising, flooding, and receding) were the most important for reproduction. Both species bear fruits at flood, when the water is deepest and remains until receding, and most seeds are dispersed. The synchrony between reproductive cycles and these flood phases suggests the importance of seasonality in the reproductive patterns of these species.
Highlights
One of the aims of phenology is to reveal patterns of flowering and fruiting in plant communities (Foster, 1982), as an adaptation to cyclic biotic and abiotic factors (Lieth, 1974; Morellato & Leitão-Filho, 1990; Schaik et al, 1993), linked to genetic factors (Wilczek et al, 2010), and even dispersal of diaspores (Mantovani & Martins, 1988)
The Pantanal wetlands are a plain with regular flood cycles (Junk et al, 1989), natural and seasonal events that drive the dynamics in structure and floristic composition (Prado et al, 1994; Schessl, 1999), mainly in communities of aquatic macrophytes that are abundant in lakes and ponds throughout the region
Few reports describe the phenology of aquatic macrophytes in the Pantanal: for example, on Poaceae Oryza latifolia Desv. (Bertazzoni & Damasceno-Júnior, 2011), and on Arecaceae Attalea phalerata Mart. ex Spreng. and Bactris glaucescens Drude (Fava et al, 2011), plus some on shrubs and trees, such as Combretum lanceolatum Pohl ex Eichler and C. laxum Jacq. (Marestoni, 2011), and Vochysia divergens Pohl (Nunes da Cunha & Costa, 2000)
Summary
One of the aims of phenology is to reveal patterns of flowering and fruiting in plant communities (Foster, 1982), as an adaptation to cyclic biotic and abiotic factors (Lieth, 1974; Morellato & Leitão-Filho, 1990; Schaik et al, 1993), linked to genetic factors (Wilczek et al, 2010), and even dispersal of diaspores (Mantovani & Martins, 1988) Such studies are important for understanding the dynamics of ecosystems (Monasterio & Sarmiento, 1976). (Marestoni, 2011), and Vochysia divergens Pohl (Nunes da Cunha & Costa, 2000) These studies do not address the effects of flooding on the reproductive phenology of the species, regarding the phases when the plain is under flood or in drought, and the fact that aquatic species show adaptation to the annual flood cycle
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