The effect of water-level fluctuations on swamp forest colonization by seedlings of Tabebuia cassinoides DC. (Bignoniaceae)

Mariana de Andrade Iguatemy, Pablo José Francisco Pena Rodrigues

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DOI: 10.4236/oje.2011.13008                

Abstract

Establishment of Tabebuia cassinoides seedlings is related to water-level fluctuations in southeastern Brazil swamp forests. Nine years of annual monitoring of 48 individuals established during a drought in November 1997, when the swamp was unflooded, suggested that their establishment depends on this unpredictable event. This conclusion is further sustained by the wide variability of the seedling cohort size structure, and the fascicular root conformation that holds the shoots erect.

Keywords

Tropical Rain Forest; Wetland; Seedling Establishment; Safe Site; Root Morphology

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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