Species identification was assured by
diaspores collected from known macrophytes and by cultivation until fruit set.
Pequi
diaspores with moisture content 63.67 (% d.b.) were subjected to drying in a forced-air oven at 75 [degrees]C until reaching moisture contents of 16.6, 13.1, 8.7 and 6.4 (% d.b.), determined in an oven at 105 [+ or -] 1 [degrees]C, during 24 h, in two replicates (Brasil, 2009).
The
diaspores of target species were sown in 9 cm Petri dishes, with two filter papers moistened with 5 mL aqueous leaf extract, oxyfluorfen herbicide (positive control) or distilled water (negative control).
Fruit ripening has also been associated with the appropriate dispersal season; for instance,
diaspores of wind dispersal species ripen during the dry season (Lieberman, 1982; Morellato et al., 1990; Ibarra-Manriquez et al, 1991; Batalha and Martins, 2004), a situation that also occurs in several species of Asteraceae in the study area.
(Caryocaraceae) stands out due to the food and medicinal value of the
diaspores. C.
These mammals might consume or remove large number of
diaspores at every foraging bout (Jansen et al., 2014).
From an ecological viewpoint, the dispersal of
diaspores is a process of great importance for plant species because it enables them to expand their area of occurrence, decreases intraspecies competition and allows increase of their genetic variability into the population (HOWE; MIRITI, 2004).
TABLE 1: Collection date of the
diaspores of Lithraea molleoides Vell.
In general, temperature and substrate are analyzed jointly, and the best germination results for these species are obtained when seeds or
diaspores are placed in a porous substrate, such as sand or vermiculite, at constant temperature of 25 to 30[degrees]C (IOSSI et al., 2003; PIVETTA et al., 2005, 2008; SILVA e SILVA et al., 2006).
Morphological patterns of
diaspores from animal-dispersed tree and treelet species at Parque Estadual de Itapua, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil.
Grime (1979) reports that woodland shrubs have either an escape mechanism (i.e.,
diaspores that are widely dispersed to exploit spatially irregular patches where seedlings could become established) or a "bank of persistent seedlings." In contrast, Eriksson (1989) presents evidence that shrubs depend on seasonal regeneration or on a persistent seed bank.
The reproductive traits used are: 1--high and continuous seed production, 2--breeding system that promotes self-pollination and low expression of deleterious characters, 3--floral morphology allowing a large diversity of visitors, 4--a generalist biotic pollination system or wind pollination, and 5--abiotic dispersal syndrome of
diaspores and/or capacity for colonization and eventual immigration.
