ABSTRACT
Condensed tannin (CT) concentrations in plants are influenced by species, plant part, season, growth phase, environmental conditions, disease and defoliation. The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of edaphoclimatic factors on the concentration of CT stored in leaves and bark from Mimosa tenuiflora (Wild.) Poiret and Anadenanthera macrocarpa (Benth.) Brenan., collected at three distinct locations in northeastern Brazil. At each study site, sampling was carried out by randomly selecting five trees, each tree represented one replication and samples of leaves and bark of each plant species was collected. Soil samples were collected near the base of each plant for moisture, physical and chemical analysis. Meteorological data from each month and site were obtained of the INMET automatic station. We conducted a principal components analysis using a multivariate technique to observe the influence of soil and weather on condensed tannin concentration. Overall, Anadenanthera macrocarpa has the least total CT concentration in both plant fraction and site. Our results suggest that soil chemical characteristics, soil moisture and weather explain 76.27% and 75.92% of the variation in CT produced by Mimosa tenuiflora and Anadenanthera macrocarpa, respectively. Condensed tannin concentration in these two species is negatively associated with soil moisture and rainfall, and positively associated with temperature and soil chemical elements.
Key words:
Legume; Polyphenol; Specialized metabolite
