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Comparative wood anatomy of Ficus cestrifolia (Moraceae) in two distinct soil conditions

Abstract

Wood anatomical traits respond to environmental variables and among them, soil has a direct impact on secondary xylem. This study compares the wood anatomy of two populations of Ficus cestrifolia occurring in two lowland formations of Southern Brazil (MAQ and SJS) with similar climate but different soil conditions. Wood samples were collected at breast height and prepared according to standard wood anatomy techniques. Soil samples were collected and subjected to a nutrient analysis. Wood was described quali and quantitatively. The qualitative wood anatomical features of both populations were similar. Some quantitative differences were observed. In MAQ area, the levels of macro- and micronutrients were higher than in SJS. Its population presented higher vessel frequency, thicker-walled fibers, and lower vulnerability index. SJS's population had longer fibers, wider rays and a higher ray frequency, and higher vulnerability index. This suite of characters indicates that the MAQ population has a safer and more efficient xylem structure for water conduction. Under the influence of similar climate and soil type, differences regarding wood anatomical traits found between the two populations of Ficus cestrifolia can thus be regarded as an ecological response to the micro-environmental soils nutrients composition.

Key words:
Atlantic Forest; Brazilian coastal lowland; secondary xylem plasticity; soil nutrients

Resumo

O lenho responde às variáveis ambientais e o solo tem um impacto direto no xilema secundário. Este estudo compara a anatomia de duas populações de Ficus cestrifolia (Moraceae) de terras baixas no Sul do Brasil (MAQ e SJS), em duas áreas com climas semelhantes, mas diferentes condições nutricionais dos solos. As amostras de lenho foram coletadas a altura do peito e preparadas segundo técnicas usuais de anatomia da madeira para descrição qualitativa e quantitativa. Amostras de solo foram coletadas e submetidas a análise de nutrientes. As médias foram comparadas utilizando-se o teste t em ambiente R. Foram calculados o índice de vulnerabilidade para ambas as populações. As características qualitativas foram semelhantes entre as duas populações. MAQ apresentou os maiores níveis de macro e micronutrientes no solo, e a população apresentou os maiores valores para frequência dos vasos, espessura da parede das fibras e menor índice de vulnerabilidade, enquanto que a de SJS apresentou fibras mais longas, raios mais largos e uma frequência maior de raios, além de um maior índice de vulnerabilidade. Estas características indicam que a população de MAQ possui uma estrutura do xilema mais segura e eficiente para a condução de água. Sob a influência de clima e tipo de solo semelhantes, as diferenças com relação às características do lenho entre as populações podem ser consideradas uma resposta ecológica ao conteúdo nutricional dos solos.

Palavras-chave:
Mata Atlântica; formação de terras baixas; plasticidade do xilema secundário; nutrientes do solo

Introduction

Genus Ficus L. comprises ca. 750 species distributed worldwide, mainly in the tropics and subtropics (Corner 1965Corner EJH (1965) Check-list of Ficus in Asia and Australasia with keys to identification. Botanic Gardens, Singapore. 186p.). Out of its ca. 120 neotropical species (Berg 1991Berg CC (1991) Moraceae. Flora Zambesiaca 9: 13-76.), 64 have been reported in Brazil (Berg & Villavicencio 2004Berg CC & Villavicencio X (2004) Taxonomic studies on Ficus (Moraceae) in the West Indies, extra-Amazonian Brazil, and Bolivia. Ilicifolia 5: 1-177.), 23 of which grow in Atlantic Forest formations (BFG 2015BFG - The Brazil Flora Group (2015) Growing knowledge: an overview of seed plant diversity in Brazil. Rodriguésia 66: 1085-1113.).

Ficus cestrifolia Schott ex Spreng. occurs from the northern state of Pará to the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul (Backes & Irgang 2004Backes P & Irgang B (2004) Mata Atlântica: as árvores e a paisagem. Paisagem do Sul, Porto Alegre. 393p.), protected by law (Melo Júnior et al. 2007Melo Júnior JCF, Bartz M & Fisher T (2007) Aspectos legais e ecológicos da avaliação de árvores imunes ao corte: o caso da duplicação da BR-101 no Rio Grande do Sul. Revista Saúde e Meio Ambiente 8: 7-13.). It is commonly found on alluvial plain soils in lowlands and rarely above 100 m a.s.l. (Marchiori 1997Marchiori JNC (1997) Dendrologia das angiospermas: das magnoliáceas às flacurtiáceas. Editora da Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Santa Maria. 271p.; Carauta & Diaz 2002Carauta JPP & Diaz BE (2002) Figueiras no Brasil. Editora UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro. 211p.). Since the anatomical studies of F. cestrifolia are restricted to leaves (Mello-Filho & Neves 1989Mello-Filho LE & Neves LJ (1989) Anatomia foliar de Ficus cestrifolia (Miq.) Miq. Bradea 5: 156-165.), wood anatomical information is scarce.

Wood structure, which plays an important functional role in water transport, mechanical support, and water and nutrients storage, is affected by several environmental factors (Baas et al. 2004Baas P, Ewers FW, Davis SD & Wheeler EA (2004) Evolution of xylem physiology. In: Hemsley AR & Poole I (eds.) The evolution of plant physiology, London. Pp. 273-295.). Several ecological studies have demonstrated that many wood anatomical traits present a strong relation with climate conditions (Baas 1982Baas P (1982) Systematic, phylogenetic and ecological wood anatomy - History and perspectives. In: Baas P (ed.) New perspectives in wood anatomy. The Hague, Leiden. Pp. 23-58.; Baas et al. 1983Baas P, Werker EE & Fahn A (1983) Some ecological trends in vessel characters. IAWA Bulletin 4: 141-159.; Alves & Angyalossy-Alfonso 2000Alves ES & Angyalossy-Alfonso V (2000) Ecological trends in the wood anatomy of some Brazilian species. I: growth rings and vessels. IAWA Journal 21: 3-30.; Carlquist 2001Carlquist S (2001) Comparative wood anatomy: systematic, ecological, and evolutionary aspects of dicotyledon wood. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. 448p.; Hacke & Sperry 2001Hacke UG & Sperry JS (2001) Functional and ecological xylem anatomy. Plant Ecology, Evolution & Systematics 4: 97-115.; Fichtler & Worbes 2012Fichtler E & Worbes M (2012) Wood anatomical variables in tropical trees and their relation to site conditions and individual tree morphology. IAWA Journal 33: 119-140.).

Since it determines fertility, soil nutrient composition is a limiting factor for plant growth (Henriques & Marcelis 2000Henriques ARP & Marcelis LFM (2000) Regulation of growth at steady - state nitrogen nutrition in Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.): interactive effects of nitrogen and irradiance. Annals of Botany 86: 1073-1080.), especially nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (Aerts & Chapin III 2000Aerts R & Chapin III FS (2000) The mineral nutrition of wild plants revisited: a re-evaluation of processes and patterns. Advances in Ecological Research 30: 1-67.). Nutrient availability in soils affects the development of different strategies of resource allocation in plants, leading to variations in certain morphological attributes, and may constrain plant organs to resorb nutrients (et al. 2012Lü XT, Freschet GT, Flynn DFB & Han XG (2012) Plasticity in leaf and stem nutrient resorption proficiency potentially reinforces plant-soil feedbacks and microscale heterogeneity in a semi-arid grassland. Journal of Ecology 100: 144-150.). Although most studies focus on the nutritional status of leaves, stems and roots also play important roles in the absorption, transport, and storage of nutrients (He et al. 2015He M, Zhang K, Tan H, Hu R, Su J, Wang J, Huang L, Zhang Y & Li X (2015) Nutrient levels within leaves, stems, and roots of the xeric species Reaumuria soongorica in relation to geographical, climatic, and soil conditions. Ecology & Evolution 5: 1494-1503.). For instance, soil fertilization affects both the structure and chemical composition of stem wood (Kostiainen et al. 2004Kostiainen K, Kaakinen S, Saranpaa P, Sigurdsson BD, Linder S & Vapaavuori E (2004) Effect of elevated [CO2] on stem wood properties of mature Norway spruce grown at different soil nutrient availability. Global Change Biology 10: 1526-1538.), affecting the plant's hydraulic architecture (Bucci et al. 2006Bucci JS, Scholz FG, Goldstein G, Meinzer FC, Franco AC, Campanello PI, Villalobos-Vega R, Bustamante M & Miralles-Wilhelm F (2006) Nutrient availability constrains the hydraulic architecture and water relations of savannah trees. Plant, Cell and Environment 29: 2153-2167.; Faustino et al. 2013Faustino LI, Bulfe NML, Pinazo MA, Monteoliva SE & Graciano C (2013) Dry weight partitioning and hydraulic traits in young Pinus taeda trees fertilized with nitrogen and phosphorus in a subtropical area. Tree Physiology 33: 241-251.), increasing plant growth, photosynthesis and transpiration (Goldstein et al. 2013Goldstein G, Bucci SJ & Scholz FG (2013) Why do trees adjust water relations and hydraulic architecture in response to nutrient availability? Tree Physiology 33: 238-240.).

Section Americanae, which F. cestrifolia belongs, is represented by hemipiphyte species. It is demonstrated that individuals undergo water stress at the epiphytic phase (Holbrook & Putz 1996Holbrook NM & Putz FE (1996) From epiphyte to tree: differences in leaf structure and leaf water relations associated with the transition in growth form in eight species of hemiepiphytes. Plant Cell Environment 19: 631-642.). Indeed, water is important to determine abundance and diversity of fig trees in seasonal environment (Coelho et al. 2014Coelho LFM, Ribeiro MC & Pereira RAS (2014) Water availability determines the richness and density of fig trees within Brazilian semideciduous forest landscapes. Acta Oecologica 57: 109-116.). Particularly in hemiephytic species, adventitious roots can grow superficially several meters on the ground, allowing the individual tree to forage water and nutrients at hectare-scale area (Silman & Krisel 2006Silman MR & Krisel C (2006) Getting to the root of tree neighbourhoods: hectarescale root zones of a neotropical fig. Journal of Tropical Ecology 22: 727-730.). Thus, vulnerability index can express the risk of cavitation that Americanae fig tree species are potentially subjected to undergo.

Therefore, the present study compares the wood anatomy of two populations in a functional perspective considering the soil characteristics of two lowland areas of Atlantic Forest in Southern Brazil. Our hypothesis is that the wood structure of the population growing in soils richer in nutrients present features that enhance its hydraulic and load bearing capacity.

Methods

Study areas and soil analysis

Samples were collected in two areas in Southern Brazil: Maquiné city (MAQ), Rio Grande do Sul state, and São João do Sul city (SJS), Santa Catarina state (Fig. 1). The areas are characterized with lowland vegetation in coastal plains (Brack 2006Brack P (2006) Vegetação e paisagem do litoral norte do Rio Grande do Sul: patrimônio desconhecido e ameaçado. In: Livro de Resumos do II Encontro Socioambiental do Litoral Norte (II ESALN). Ecossistemas e sustentabilidade. UFRGS, Imbé. Pp. 46-71.), partially or completely flooded during summer by intense rainfall, forming temporary ponds of poor drainage (Klein 1980Klein RM (1980) Ecologia da flora e vegetação do Vale do Itajaí. Sellowia 32: 31-32.). Soil samples were collected for analysis 15 cm below ground level close to each studied individual accordingly to Embrapa methods (Embrapa 2013EMBRAPA (2013) Sistema brasileiro de classificação de solos. EMBRAPA, Brasília. 353p.), homogenized in order to obtain a composed sample for each population, processed at Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation - EMBRAPA, for quantifying macro and micronutrients concentration, Ph, organic matter and base saturation. Geographical coordinates and climate data of the two study areas are shown in Table 1, obtained from Climate-Data (2015)Climate-Data (2015) Clima. Available at <http://pt.climate-data.org>. Access on 30 September 2015.
http://pt.climate-data.org...
.

Figure 1
Location of study areas of Ficus cestrifolia (Moraceae) populations. MAQ = Maquiné, RS; SJS = São João do Sul, SC.

Table 1
Geographical coordinates and environmental data of Maquiné (MAQ) and São João do Sul (SJS) study areas.

Sampling, wood anatomy and statistical analysis

We sampled ten trees from Maquiné municipality (13-15 m height and 150-420 cm diameter at breast height) and ten trees from São João do Sul municipality (7-12 m height and 73-124 cm diameter at breast height). All wood samples were collected at breast height from the sapwood portions with the aid of a hammer and chisel. Wood sections were prepared according to standard techniques used in wood anatomy (Johansen 1940Johansen DA (1940) Plant microtechnique. McGraw-Hill, London. 523p.). Slides were deposited in the reference wood and slide collection of the Universidade da Região de Joinville (JOIw). Small fragments of wood were dissociated using Franklin's method (Franklin 1945Franklin GL (1945) Preparation of thin sections of synthetic resins and wood-resin composites, and a new macerating method for wood. Nature 155: 51.), stained with alcoholic safranin and mounted in synthetic resin. Anatomical description and measurements were based on the recommendations of the IAWA Committee (1989)IAWA Committee (1989) List of microscopic features for hardwood identification. IAWA Bulletin 10: 219-332.. Quantitative data are based on 25 measures for each trait. For each population, we calculated the vulnerability index VI (D/F, D = vessel diameter and F = vessel frequency, Carlquist 1977Carlquist S (1977) Ecological factors in wood evolution: a floristic approach. American Journal of Botany 64: 887-896.).

Mean and standard deviation were calculated for each wood quantitative trait. After checking the normal distribution of data, means were compared using t-test for two independent samples (Zar 1999Zar JH (1999) Biostatistical analysis. Prentice-Hall, New Jersey. 663p.) in software R (Crawley 2007Crawley MJ (2007) The R book. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester. 942p.).

Results

Comparative soil analysis of the two study sites

The chemical soil analysis showed that both areas present a very acid soil (Tab. 2). At MAQ, a higher level of the following macronutrients phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) were found when compared to SJS. The greatest variation was observed regarding levels of K at MAQ, where values were 40 times higher than for SJS. The same trend was obtained for micronutrientes zinc (Zn), aluminium (Al), cupper (Cu), manganese (Mn) and iron (Fe). Cations exchange capacity (CEC) had a great disparity between the study areas, higher at MAQ. The levels of organic matter (OM) found at MAQ were also higher. Although the higher values for macro and micronutrientes were found at MAQ, base saturation (V) showed that both soils are eutrophic.

Table 2
Comparison of soils' chemical composition of Maquiné (MAQ) and São João do Sul (SJS) study areas.

Wood description of Ficus cestrifolia and comparison between Maquiné and São João do Sul populations

Both populations are characterized by the following anatomical traits (Figs. 2 and 3): growth rings indistinct or absent. Vessels diffuse, solitary (55,55%), in radial multiples of 2-14 (37,05%) and few in clusters (7,41%); tyloses common; perforation plates simple; intervessel pits alternate, oval to polygonal; large ≥ 10 µm; vessel-axial parenchyma and vessel-ray pits with reduced borders and irregular shape (Fig. 2d). Fibres with simple to minutely bordered pits; thin to thick-walled. Axial parenchyma in bands composed of more than three cells wide; strands of 4-8 cells. Rays 1-4 seriate; 9-28 cells tall; heterocellular, with body cells procumbent and one row of upright and/or square marginal cells; ranging from 4 to 12 rays/mm. Prismatic crystals present in chambered axial and radial parenchyma cells. Quantitative traits are presented in Table 3.

Figure 2
a-g. General wood traits of Ficus cestrifolia (Moraceae) - a. TS, axial parenchyma in bands composed of more than tree cells wide (arrow); b. TS, tyloses (black star); c. TLS, alternate polygonal and oval pitting; d. RLS, vessel-rays pits with reduced borders; e. TLS, rays 1-4 seriate; f. RLS, heterocellular rays; g. RLS, prismatic crystal in parenchyma (arrow). (RLS = radial longitudinal section; TLS = tangencial longitudinal section; TS = transversal section). Scale bars: a = 200 µm; b-f = 100 µm; c = 10 µm; d,e,g = 20 µm.

Figure 3
a-f. Comparative wood anatomy of Ficus cestrifolia (Moraceae) occurring in Maquiné, RS (a,c,e) and SJS, SC (b,d,f) - a,b. TS, vessel frequency and tangential vessel diameter; c-f. ray - c,d. TLS; e,f. RLS. Scale bars: 100 µm.

Table 3
Mean values and standard deviations (in parentheses) of wood anatomical traits of Ficus cestrifolia (Moraceae). Different letters on the same line indicate statistically significance difference between Maquiné (MAQ) and São João do Sul (SJS) populations (n = 10 for each area).

Higher vessel frequency was observed at MAQ, although the tangential diameter and vessel length were similar between populations. Longer fibres were found at SJS, while thicker walls were present at MAQ. Wider rays with a higher frequency were found at SJS, however with similar height than those at MAQ. A higher risk of cavitation, given by the Vulnerability Index, occurred at SJS (Tab. 3).

Discussion

The wood anatomy of the studied species is similar to other Ficus species described in the literature, especially regarding large vessel diameter and abundant axial parenchyma (Détienne & Jacquet 1983Détienne P & Jacquet P (1983) Atlas d'identification des bois de l'amazonie et des régions voisines. Centre Technique Forestier Tropical, Nogent-sur-Marne. 640p.; Koek-Noorman et al. 1984Koek-Noorman J, Topper SMC & ter Welle BJH (1984) The systematic wood anatomy of Moraceae (Urticales). III. Tribe Ficeae. IAWA Bulletin 5: 330-334.). The presence of axial parenchyma bands more than three cell wide is a common feature in other species occurring in Southern Brazil's Atlantic Forest, as Ficus eximia Schott (Inside Wood 2004Inside Wood (2004 - onwards) The inside wood database. Available at <http://insidewood.lib.ncsu.edu>. Access on 18 September 2015.
http://insidewood.lib.ncsu.edu...
).

Wood qualitative traits did not vary much among populations, corroborating other similar comparative studies in Atlantic Forest areas (Marcati et al. 2001Marcati CR, Angyalossy-Alfonso V & Benetati L (2001) Anatomia comparada do lenho de Copaifera langsdorffii Desf. (Leguminosae-Caesalpinoideae) de floresta e cerradão. Revista Brasileira de Botânica 24: 311-320.; Bosio et al. 2010Bosio F, Soffiatti P & Boeger MRT (2010) Ecological wood anatomy of Miconia sellowiana (Melastomataceae) in three vegetation types of Paraná state, Brazil. IAWA Journal 31: 179-190.; Marques et al. 2012Marques JDO, Luizão FJ, Teixeira WG & Ferreira SJ (2012) Variações do carbono orgânico dissolvido e de atributos físicos do solo sob diferentes sistemas de uso da terra na Amazônia Central. Revista Brasileira de Ciência do Solo 36: 611-622.; Carvalho 2013Carvalho PCS (2013) Anatomia e teores nutricionais do xilema secundário de Citharexylum myrianthum Cham (Verbenaceae) em duas condições de solo. Master Thesis. Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba. 40p.). Yet variations in the mean values of some quantitative traits according to the area show the different strategies observed in the wood. We can assume they reveal the plastic responses of secondary xylem to soil attributes, since climate is quite similar in our two study areas.

Both populations present similar vessel diameter means, but MAQ population has a higher vessel frequency. Studies show that an increase in soil fertilization results in vessel frequency raise (Lima et al. 2010Lima IL, Longui EL, Santini Junior L, Garcia NJ, Borges F & Monteiro S (2010) Effect of fertilization on cell size in wood of Eucalyptus grandis HILL Ex Maiden. Cerne 16: 465-472.). There is an interaction between water and nutrient uptake affecting tree physiology in processes such as photosynthesis, thus increasing transpiration and affecting wood hydraulics (Phillips et al. 2001Phillips N, Bergh J, Oren R & Linder S (2001) Effects of nutrition and soil water availability on water use in a Norway spruce stand. Tree Physiology 21: 851-860.).

Besides, woods with larger vessels and lower frequency reflect a trade-off between efficiency and safety, considered a pattern in wet and hot environments (Alves & Angyalossy-Alfonso 2000Alves ES & Angyalossy-Alfonso V (2000) Ecological trends in the wood anatomy of some Brazilian species. I: growth rings and vessels. IAWA Journal 21: 3-30.; Carlquist 2001Carlquist S (2001) Comparative wood anatomy: systematic, ecological, and evolutionary aspects of dicotyledon wood. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. 448p.; Barros et al. 2006Barros CF, Marcon-Ferreira ML, Callado CH, Lima HRP, Cunha M, Marquete O & Costa CG (2006) Tendências ecológicas na anatomia da madeira de espécies da comunidade arbórea da reserva biológica de Poço das Antas, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. Rodriguésia 57: 443-460.). Higher vessel frequency is associated with higher conductivity. Besides, the lower vulnerability index (VI) value in MAQ population means that it is more resistant to cavitation than that of SJS population (Carlquist 1977Carlquist S (1977) Ecological factors in wood evolution: a floristic approach. American Journal of Botany 64: 887-896.). A higher number of vessels increases redundancy. Some authors point out a positive relation between VI and higher vessel frequency (Lens et al. 2011Lens F, Sperry JS, Christman MA, Choat B, Rabaey D & Jansen S (2011) Testing hypotheses that link wood anatomy to cavitation resistance and hydraulic conductivity in the genus Acer. New Phytologist 190: 709-723.). VI expresses the potential risk of embolism and cavitation formation, which affects the hydraulic conductivity of xylem (Carlquist 2001Carlquist S (2001) Comparative wood anatomy: systematic, ecological, and evolutionary aspects of dicotyledon wood. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. 448p.). Loss of conductivity entails lower water flow to leaves, thus impacting photosynthetic production and, consequently, tree growth (Tyree 2003Tyree MT (2003) Hydraulic limits on tree performance: transpiration, carbon gain and growth of trees. Trees 17: 95-100.). Goldstein et al. (2013)Goldstein G, Bucci SJ & Scholz FG (2013) Why do trees adjust water relations and hydraulic architecture in response to nutrient availability? Tree Physiology 33: 238-240. showed that the higher the nutrient availability, the higher the resistance to cavitation due to the fact that plants operate at more negative water potentials.

The presence of thicker-walled fibers in MAQ population can also be correlated to higher vessel frequency, increasing xylem safety. A matrix of thicker-walled fibers surrounding vessel elements helps supporting them under negative pressures and improves wood strength (Lens et al. 2011Lens F, Sperry JS, Christman MA, Choat B, Rabaey D & Jansen S (2011) Testing hypotheses that link wood anatomy to cavitation resistance and hydraulic conductivity in the genus Acer. New Phytologist 190: 709-723.).

On the other hand, wider rays are observed in SJS population, which may be a consequence of poorer soils, as demonstrated by Goulart & Marcati (2008)Goulart SL & Marcati CR (2008) Anatomia comparada do lenho em raiz e caule de Lippia salviifolia Cham. (Verbenaceae). Revista Brasileira de Botânica 31: 263-275., and reveal a conservative strategy towards nutrient allocation in this condition. Besides, the role of parenchyma in embolism repair is suggested by many authors (Tyree et al. 1999Tyree MT, Salleo S, Nardini A, Lo Gullo MA & Mosca R (1999) Refilling of embolized vessels in young stems of laurel. Do we need a new paradigm? Plant Physiology 120: 11-21.; Brodersen & McElrone 2013Brodersen CR & McElrone AJ (2013) Maintenance of xylem network transport capacity: a review of embolism repair in vascular plants. Frontiers in Plant Science 4: 2-11.; Zheng & Martinez-Cabrera 2013Zheng J & Martínez-Cabrera HI (2013) Wood anatomical correlates with theoretical conductivity and wood density across China: evolutionary evidence of the functional differentiation of axial and radial parenchyma. Annals of Botany 112: 927-935.) and we can hypothesize that considering that the SJS population is more prone to cavitation than MAQ population, these larger rays might play a role on safety.

The chemical composition of soils is considered a determining factor in the plant ability to allocate essential growth nutrients (Hodge 2006Hodge A (2006) Plastic plants and patchy soils. Journal of Experimental Botany 57: 401-411.). Acid soils are common in tropical environments, where generally high precipitation and temperature enhance weathering processes and favor soil aging (Ronquim 2010Ronquim CC (2010) Conceitos de fertilidade do solo e manejo adequado para as regiões tropicais. Boletim de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento. Embrapa Monitoramento por Satélite, Campinas. 26p.). Organic matter thus increases because of lower reduction rates (Silva 1990Silva SM (1990) Composição florística e fitossociologica de um trecho de floresta de restinga na Ilha do Mel, município de Paranaguá, PR. Tese de Mestrado. University of Campinas, Campinas. 147p.), which improves nutrient absorption through root development (Bonilha et al. 2013Bonilha RM, Casagrande JC, Soares MR & Reis-Duarte RM (2013) Characterization of the soil fertility and root system of restinga forests. Revista Brasileira de Ciência do Solo 36: 1804-1813.). Characterized by the amounts of basic cations and cations exchange capacity (CEC), soil fertility is considered crucial to plant development and biomass production (Phillips et al. 2001Phillips N, Bergh J, Oren R & Linder S (2001) Effects of nutrition and soil water availability on water use in a Norway spruce stand. Tree Physiology 21: 851-860.; Ronquim 2010Ronquim CC (2010) Conceitos de fertilidade do solo e manejo adequado para as regiões tropicais. Boletim de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento. Embrapa Monitoramento por Satélite, Campinas. 26p.; Goldstein et al. 2013Goldstein G, Bucci SJ & Scholz FG (2013) Why do trees adjust water relations and hydraulic architecture in response to nutrient availability? Tree Physiology 33: 238-240.). In the two populations of F. cestrifolia studied here, the largest trees (Tab. 1) were found on the most fertile soil (MAQ) (Tab. 2), which contains the highest amounts of most of macro and micronutrients evaluated when compared to SJS soil.

Although under the influence of similar climate and soil type, these two populations are subject to different edaphic conditions, since more resources are available to MAQ than SJS trees. Soil nutrients availability will affect carbon allocation and hence hydraulic architecture. The MAQ population has less vulnerable wood, with a higher vessel frequency and thicker-walled fibers than that of SJS, indicating both a higher efficiency and safety in conduction. The populations of Ficus cestrifolia employ distinct wood anatomical strategies, in which secondary xylem functional attributes vary and can be regarded as ecological responses to different soil composition.

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Edited by

Editora de área: Dra. Simone Teixeira

Publication Dates

  • Publication in this collection
    Oct-Dec 2018

History

  • Received
    15 Mar 2017
  • Accepted
    05 Sept 2017
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