Banca de DEFESA: ANA ELIZABETH BONATO ASATO

Uma banca de DEFESA de MESTRADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : ANA ELIZABETH BONATO ASATO
DATE: 05/02/2020
TIME: 14:00
LOCAL: sala de reuniões - DECOL
TITLE:

Controlling factors of litterfall phenology and its effects on ecosystem multifunctionality in a semideciduous tropical forest

KEY WORDS:

Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning;seasonality;structural equation modelling ;plant community;tropics

PAGES: 60
BIG AREA: Ciências Biológicas
AREA: Ecologia
SUMMARY:

Plant phenology is modulated by biotic factors, such as interactions between species and the effects of biodiversity, and abiotics, such as factors related to water and thermal regulation. The effect of these factors on phenology generally depends on the intensity of environmental filters. Here, we test the importance of biotic and abiotic factors for the functioning of the tropical forest ecosystem, known as Restinga, under adverse conditions. Seeking to understand the temporal patterns of the forest, we tested the seasonality of leaf, branches and reproductive phenologies of the forest, exploring the relationship between these phenophases and possible abiotic guides (Chapter 1). All phenophases presented seasonality, being the phenology of reproductive materials the most seasonal. Leaf phenology was negatively guided by precipitation and relative humidity, and positively by insolation. The phenology of reproductive material was guided by the relative humidity of the air, while that of branches was affected by the wind speed. Given their important contribution of matter and energy to the ecosystem, as well as the possible biotic effects on phenology, we aimed to understand the importance of plant diversity for leaf phenology seasonality (Chapter 2). Through path analysis, we observed that species richness negatively affects seasonality and niche overlap, but that niche overlap has no effect on seasonality. In addition, soil K content had a positive effect on seasonality. The results indicate that the dominance, possibly maintained by K, guides the phenological pattern of species rich plant assemblages. Because ecosystem valuation is based on its ability to maintain multiple functions simultaneously, we aimed to understand the role of diversity (taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic) and various abiotic factors in multifunctionality (Chapter 3). We also used weighted diversity metrics, given that dominant species could possibly have higher effects on multifunctionality. Using path analysis, we observed that multifunctionality was mainly determined by abiotic factors such as rainfall, slope and soil K content. In addition, model selection indicated those models with weighted metrics as best. Our results indicate that the environmental filters on the vegetation are intense, leading to seasonality of litter supply. This masks the biotic effects that, when present, occur through dominance, possibly guided by K.

BANKING MEMBERS:
Presidente - 1714892 - ADRIANO CALIMAN FERREIRA DA SILVA
Interno - 1837921 - ALEXANDRE FADIGAS DE SOUZA
Externo à Instituição - LEONARDO HENRIQUE TEIXEIRA PINTO