Responses of Translocated Cattleya intermedia (Orchidaceae) to Environmental Key Features in a Vertical Gradient of Subtropical Forest, Brazil

Abstract

This study analyzed the survival and development of translocated Cattleya intermedia plants, aiming to understand why this threatened epiphyte is recorded growing mainly in the outermost parts of phorophytes and which are the main environmental factors related to its development, to know how to achieve conservation and restoration purposes. Plants propagated in vitro were translocated to a forest fragment (70 per phorophyte stratum: trunk and crown) in South Brazil and monitored for three years. The data indicated the ability of plants to grow along the vertical gradient of phorophytes. The orchids showed variations in the concentrations of photosynthetic pigments to adjust to environmental conditions, with higher concentrations in the crown and spring. Water content and nutrient concentration of translocated plants were similar to wild individuals. In the crown, plants were less affected by herbivory and some of them flowered three years after translocation. Plant survival and morphological and physiological aspects (growth, flower production and regulation of photosynthetic pigments), just as aspects of the trunk (inclination and circumference) and of the environment (light) indicated that C. intermedia has preference for the crown, being this the recommended stratum for its translocation aiming at conservation and environmental restoration.