O processo de nucleação em ambiente savânico do cerrado

Abstract

Nucleation process occurs naturally at savannic areas as of the changes promoted by scattered trees that facilitate the colonization of crown area by new individuals and species, including species typical of forest environment. This process can be influenced by several factors such as the physical characteristics of the nuclei, the species of nucleus and the response of nuclei and colonizers to fire. The aim of this study was to describe the nucleation process in savannic environment of Cerrado, from: the description of the environmental changes promoted by nuclei at crown area and the influence of these changes, as well as the physical parameters (crown area and distance from forest formation) of nuclei, in the structure and composition of the community colonizing nuclei (Chapter 1); the analysis of the influence of fire on the structure, composition, functional diversity and resilience of the community colonizing nuclei (Chapter 2); and the description of the influence of the difference in the species of nucleator in the structure, composition, functional diversity and response to fire of communities colonizing the three species of nuclei. Scattered trees at savannic environments of Cerrado act as nucleating, favoring the crown area colonization by a denser and more diverse community, especially by those species typical of forest environment. The fire alters the structure and composition of the community colonizing the nuclei, which has become less dense and more diverse than the community colonizing this environment before the fire, as well as increasing functional diversity based on richness and the occurrence of resprount among individuals colonizing the community after the fire. The larger the capacity of the nucleator, regardless of species, of generating greater shading, higher humidity and higher nutrient availability, denser and more diverse the community colonizing the nuclei will be.