Variação espacial na dinâmica do banco de sementes em uma área de caatinga em Pernambuco durante três anos consecutivos

Abstract

Space-time heterogeneity that occurs in dry forests changes seedling emergence rates and habitat’s species richness by influencing soil seed bank density. Therefore, considering the importance of understanding how these space-time variations influence seed bank dynamics in an area of caatinga, this study aims to answer the following questions: 1. Do soil bank species richness and seed density differ according to the microhabitat type and annual precipitation totals? 2. Is there an interaction between annual precipitation totals and microhabitat types in determining soil bank species richness and seed density? The study was performed in a fragment of caatinga in Caruaru-PE. Three microhabitat types are easily found in the study area. The riparian corresponds to the terrain zone with a smooth inclination on the margins of Olaria stream, not considering the part of the stream bed where water runs during high precipitation periods; the flat microhabitat corresponds to the somewhat flat terrains, with no significant elevations and up to 150 m distant from the stream bed margins; the rocky microhabitat corresponds to the places with small rock outcrops, within an area varying from 2 to 5 m², which occur as distinct patches dispersed in the flat microhabitat. In the interior of the study area there are 105 1 x 1 m randomly placed parcels for the study of herbaceous vegetation, 35 in each microhabitat. Soil was collected around the 1x 1m parcels (35 samples for each microhabitat) in a 5 cm depth considering litter. These collections were performed in the end of rainy and dry seasons during three consecutive years (2006, 2007 and 2008), summing 630 samples. Differences in log-transformed data of species richness and seedling emergence in the soil bank between years and microhabitats were evaluated with a two-way ANOVA, with a 5% probability and using Turkey as a posteriori test. During the three years of the study, a total of 79 species emerged from the soil bank, 63 species in the riparian microhabitat, 43 in the flat one and 42 in the rocky microhabitat. There was a significant difference for both average species richness and average seedling emergence between microhabitats and between monitoring years, with a significant interaction between them. The influence of microhabitat and annual precipitation on the soil bank species richness and seed density was not the same, or at least did not act with the same intensity, since while precipitation explained 48% of soil bank species richness, microhabitat only explained 7%. Regarding seed density, the opposite was recorded, since while microhabitat explained 31% of seedling emergence, precipitation only accounted for 5%. The results of this study showed that, in order to better understand seed bank dynamics of semi-arid environments, it is also necessary to consider variations inducted by microhabitat conditions, which help for a better adjusting of predictions about seed availability in the soil bank for population renewal and conservation of these environments.