Banca de DEFESA: LEONARDO HENRIQUE TEIXEIRA PINTO

Uma banca de DEFESA de DOUTORADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
DISCENTE : LEONARDO HENRIQUE TEIXEIRA PINTO
DATA : 27/05/2017
HORA: 09:00
LOCAL: Departamento de Ecologia - CB
TÍTULO:

Restoration of plant diversity and ecosystem functioning: effects of species richness, phylogenetic distance, functional diversity and invasive plants


PALAVRAS-CHAVES:

Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, functional diversity, invasive species, nutrient retention, phylogenetic diversity, plant traits, soil fertility, tropical dry forests.


PÁGINAS: 220
GRANDE ÁREA: Ciências Biológicas
ÁREA: Ecologia
RESUMO:

Biodiversity positively affects several ecosystem functions. Nevertheless, the mechanisms by which biodiversity affects ecosystems are still poorly understood and call for new experimental studies designed to identify its underlying components. Previous studies have suggested that more diverse plant communities can provide more ecosystem stability due to complementarity and redundancy effects. Plant species diversity can act on different levels of the ecosystem properties. A clear example is the effect of plant diversity on nutrient dynamics of terrestrial ecosystems. Plant diversity can alter rates of soil nutrient accumulation and nutrient loading in aquatic systems. However, human impacts on natural ecosystems are leading to habitat and biodiversity loss. Such losses will ultimately jeopardize ecosystem functions and its associated services that are vital for human well-being. Therefore, the development of adequate restoration projects is paramount to mitigate anthropogenic impacts, while contributing to the conservation of biodiversity. Restoration projects offer the possibility to develop a solid knowledge on the functioning of ecosystems facing disturbance. For achieving this knowledge, we need to conduct theory-based restoration experiments in order to assess the variability, predictability and reliability of functioning from restored ecosystems. In this context, this PhD thesis is based on three experiments testing how plant diversity and functional traits would influence the functioning of restored ecosystems. The objectives are to investigate (i) the plant species and traits that are most efficient for retaining nutrients in the soil, thus reducing nutrient leaching losses and its consequent impact on aquatic systems; (ii) the effects of plant species richness and phylogenetic diversity on restoration success (measured as biomass production and plant survival) in a recently restored riparian forest; and (iii) the influence of an invasive alien plant species on soil and soil water nutrients in communities with different levels of functional diversity. The experiments conducted during this thesis are in accordance with recent studies that investigate how different measures of biodiversity and sources of stress could affect ecosystem functioning. The main results of this thesis reveal that (i) only one species (Mimosa tenuiflora) could influence water cleaning and soil nutrient content. Additionally, plant traits related to shoot dry matter content (SDMC) and root water content (RWC) are more important for controlling individual functions related to water and nutrient retention in the soil, while only traits related to biomass production affected ecosystem multifunctionality; (ii) the use of phylogenetically distant species can increase restoration success by positively affecting plant biomass production; and (iii) plant functional diversity partially promotes water cleaning and soil fertility in restored systems, nevertheless did not prevent invasion. In turn, invasive species disrupts the influence of plant diversity on soil nutrient dynamics by jeopardizing native plant biomass production thus, potentially, creating a positive feedback for further invasions. These results support future restoration projects focusing on invasive species control and ecosystem functions, indicating which species are most suitable for restoration to maximizing soil fertility and soil water quality. Finally, this thesis offers a contribution to the knowledge of plant-soil feedbacks.


MEMBROS DA BANCA:
Externo à Instituição - ALEXANDRE VASCONCELLOS - UFPB
Interno - 1678202 - CARLOS ROBERTO SORENSEN DUTRA DA FONSECA
Presidente - 1677189 - GISLENE MARIA DA SILVA GANADE
Externo à Instituição - JOHANNES KOLLMANN - TUM
Interno - 1362202 - JOSE LUIZ DE ATTAYDE
Notícia cadastrada em: 23/05/2017 15:07
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