Banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO: RAUL MARIO DA SILVA PEIXOTO NETO

Uma banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO de DOUTORADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : RAUL MARIO DA SILVA PEIXOTO NETO
DATE: 29/10/2021
TIME: 10:00
LOCAL: meet.google.com/tos-yesg-wae
TITLE:

Diversity and Facilitation: How can these factors affect litter decomposition in each season in Caatinga

KEY WORDS:

semiarid;functional diversity;ecosystem functions;drought;trees;herbaceas;nurse species;rain;litter quality;richness

PAGES: 95
BIG AREA: Ciências Biológicas
AREA: Ecologia
SUMMARY:

Currently, there is a strong debate about the effect of biodiversity on ecosystems functioning (BEF). Concerning terrestrial ecosystems, plant litter decomposition is one of the most important ecosystem functions being the major nutrient pathway from vegetation to the soil. The species richness effect on plant litter decomposition results from functional or phylogenetic diversity of the tissues on decomposition and neighboring plants since functional and phylogenetic different plants have different physical and chemical traits that combined can slow down or accelerate the decomposition process. However, climatic and other abiotic conditions are also important to provide a proper environment to the decomposer community activity and promote physical degradation of the litter (i.e. photodegradation). Dry forests with semi-arid climate and rain concentrated in just a few months of the year like the Caatinga in the Brazilian Northeast, face extreme different climatic conditions concerning rainfall across a whole year, affecting decomposer and plant communities in several levels. Thus, it's possible that plant and leaf traits that drive the effect of biodiversity on the decomposition process in the dry season are different from those that do it in the rainy season. This study aims to access: (i) How Nurse species litter decomposition and litter diversity influence nutrient cycling (ii) How the diversity and facilitation index of neighbors plants can influence litter decomposition in each season in Caatinga and (iii) The effect of herbaceous community on tree’s leaf litter decomposition, during a restoration project in a semiarid environment. Our Results suggest that nurse species with high quality leaves can accelerate leaf litter decomposition. Also, that litter quality and vegetation abundance are determinants to litter decomposition in Caatinga and reinforce the extreme importance of water to semi-arid environments by demonstrating the key role that rain plays to litter leaf decomposition process in these ecosystems.

BANKING MEMBERS:
Presidente - 1677189 - GISLENE MARIA DA SILVA GANADE
Interno - 1678202 - CARLOS ROBERTO SORENSEN DUTRA DA FONSECA
Externo à Instituição - LEONARDO HENRIQUE TEIXEIRA PINTO