Morphometry of Tabebuia aurea (Manso) Benth. & Hook. f. ex S. Moore subjected to different substrates

The morphometry and quality of seedlings of tree species is of fundamental importance to achieve success in reforestation or commercial exploitation project. Due to the lack of information about the ideal substrate for the production of craibeira seedlings and taking into account the diversification of the use of Tabebuia aurea production of native seedlings for the recovery of degraded areas, this work was conducted with the objective of evaluating the development of seedlings of this species produced with bovine manure and coconut fiber. The present work was carried out at the plant ecophysiology laboratory at the Agrarian Engineering and Sciences Campus (CECA), in Rio Largo, north-region of the state of Alagoas. Four treatments were used, which consisted of a mixture of soil + organic material, in the proportion 3:1. The materials used were tanned bovine manure (ESCB), coconut fiber (CFS) and control (soil). Whose proportions of the treatments were: T1: soil + 0% coconut fiber; T2: soil + 11% coconut fiber; T3: soil + 22% coconut fiber; T4: soil + 33% coconut fiber and T5: soil + 33% cattle manure. Macro and micronutrient analyses of the substrates used were performed. To meet the work objective, the following parameters were evaluated: plant height, stem diameter, number of leaves and leaf dry matter, stem and root and chlorophyll content index. It can be concluded that the substrates chosen for evaluation showed few significant differences in relation to seedling development; the mixture of treatment 2 (soil+coconut fiber 11%) provided a higher percentage of survival and the quality of seedlings were higher; The substrate treatment 4 (soil+coconut fiber 33%) showed much lower results in all evaluated results. However, statistically there were no significant differences in relation to the other treatments and the presence of bovine manure (soil+bovine manure 33%) results in benefits such as greater nutrient supply and possible reduction of seedling costs.

Willow Aboveground and Belowground Traits Can Predict Phytoremediation Services

The increasing number of contaminated sites worldwide calls for sustainable remediation, such as phytoremediation, in which plants are used to decontaminate soils. We hypothesized that better anchoring phytoremediation in plant ecophysiology has the potential to drastically improve its predictability. In this study, we explored how the community composition, diversity and coppicing of willow plantations, influenced phytoremediation services in a four-year field trial. We also evaluated how community-level plant functional traits might be used as predictors of phytoremediation services, which would be a promising avenue for plant selection in phytoremediation. We found no consistent impact of neither willow diversity nor coppicing on phytoremediation services directly. These services were rather explained by willow traits related to resource economics and management strategy along the plant “fast–slow” continuum. We also found greater belowground investments to promote plant bioconcentration and soil decontamination. These traits–services correlations were consistent for several trace elements investigated, suggesting high generalizability among contaminants. Overall, our study provides evidence, even using a short taxonomic (and thus functional) plant gradient, that traits can be used as predictors for phytoremediation efficiency for a broad variety of contaminants. This suggests that a trait-based approach has great potential to develop predictive plant selection strategies in phytoremediation trials, through a better rooting of applied sciences in fundamental plant ecophysiology.

Fenologia da Ouratea hexasperma (A.St.-Hil.) Baill. (Ochnaceae) nos Tabuleiros Costeiros Cearenses

Estudos fenológicos são importantes na estimativa de produção para melhor aproveitamento socioeconômico de uma espécie. A Ouratea hexasperma (A.St.-Hil.) Baill. é utilizada na ornamentação, na recuperação de áreas degradadas e possui grande potencial medicinal. Desse modo, o presente trabalho objetivou caracterizar a fenologia da Ouratea hexasperma (A.St.-Hil.) Baill. nos Tabuleiros Costeiros cearenses. Na área de estudo (Jardim Botânico de São Gonçalo) foram selecionadas 10 plantas de Ouratea hexasperma (A.St.-Hil.) Baill., monitoradas entre os meses de agosto/2015 a julho/2016. Na fenologia anual verificou-se que o desfolhamento ocorreu de setembro/2015 a fevereiro/2016, o enfolhamento ocorreu durante todo o ano, a floração em outubro/2015 e a frutificação de outubro/2015 a março/2016. Na fenologia da floração a frutificação verificou-se que a espécie apresentou inicialmente 1.681 botões florais, sendo necessários 14 dias após a marcação (DAM) para que 9,2% das flores entrassem em antese e 7 dias após a antese (DAA) para ocorrer a fecundação. Os estádios chumbinho (EC), 1 (E1), 2 (E2), 3 (E3), 4 (E4) e 5 (E5) do fruto ocorrem respectivamente aos 14, 28, 42, 56, 84 e 105 DAA. Apenas 43 frutos conseguiram atingir o último estádio (E5). O mericarpo do fruto apresentou medidas 3,39-10,20 x 2,24-5,11 mm. Conclui-se que o ponto de colheita ideal dos frutos da Ouratea hexasperma (A.St.-Hil.) Baill. é no estádio 4 (E4-maduro), com uma estimativa da produção de um fruto por panícula. Phenology of Ouratea hexasperma (A.St.-Hil.) Baill. (Ochnaceae) in the Coastal Board of CearáA B S T R A C TPhenological studies are important in estimating production for better socioeconomic use of a species. The Ouratea hexasperma (A.St.-Hil.) Baill. it is used in ornamentation, in the recovery of degraded areas and has great medicinal potential. Thus, the present work aimed to characterize the phenology of Ouratea hexasperma (A.St.-Hil.) Baill. in the Coastal Board of Ceará. In the study area (Botanical Garden of São Gonçalo), 10 plants of Ouratea hexasperma (A.St.-Hil.) Baill. Were selected, monitored between August/2015 to July/2016. In annual phenology, it was found that defoliation occurred from September/2015 to February/2016, leafing occurred throughout the year, flowering in October/2015 and fruiting from October/2015 to March/2016. In the flowering phenology, fruiting showed that the species initially presented 1,681 flower buds, being necessary 14 days after marking (DAM) for 9.2% of the flowers to enter anthesis and 7 days after anthesis (DAA) to occur fertilization. The lead (SL), 1 (S1), 2 (S2), 3 (S3), 4 (S4) and 5 (S5) stages of the fruit occur at 14, 28, 42, 56, 84 and 105 DAA respectively. Only 43 fruits managed to reach the last stage (S5). The mericarp of the fruit presented measures 3.39-10.20 x 2.24-5.11 mm. It was concluded that the ideal harvest point for the fruits of Ouratea hexasperma (A.St.-Hil.) Baill. it is in stage 4 (S4-ripe), with an estimate of the production of one fruit per panicle.Keywords: Batiputá, phenophase, floral biology, plant ecophysiology, Vegetation Complex of the Coastal Zone.

Future-proofing code: Principles of coding for plant ecophysiology with {photosynthesis} as a case study

SummaryPlant physiological ecology is founded on a rich body of physical and chemical theory, but it is challenging to connect theory with data in unambiguous, analytically rigorous, and reproducible ways. Custom scripts written in computer programming languages (coding) enable plant ecophysiologists to model plant processes and fit models to data reproducibly using advanced statistical techniques. Since most ecophysiologists lack formal programming education, we have yet to adopt a unified set of coding principles and standards that could make coding easier to learn, use, and modify.We outline principles and standards for coding in plant ecophysiology to develop: 1) standardized nomenclature, 2) consistency in style, 3) increased modularity/extensibility for easier editing and understanding; 4) code scalability for application to large datasets, 5) documented contingencies for code maintenance; 6) documentation to facilitate user understanding; and 7) extensive tutorials for biologists new to coding to rapidly become proficient with software.We illustrate these principles using a new R package, {photosynthesis}, designed to provide a set of analytical tools for plant ecophysiology.Our goal with these principles is to future-proof coding efforts to ensure new advances and analytical tools can be rapidly incorporated into the field, while ensuring software maintenance across scientific generations.

Design and Performance Evaluation of Internet of Things (IoT) Based Multifunctional Device for Plant Ecophysiology & Hydrology: Toward Stem Water Content & Sap Flow

<p>Using IoT technologies represents a novel low cost and efficient tool for studies in many disciplines (plant ecophysiology and hydrology) to unravel the vulnerability of an ecosystem to climatic stress. Taking advantage of IoT, a new multifunctional device, the “TreeTalker”, was developed to monitor in real time physical and biological parameters of single trees as well as some additional ecosystem-related variables. Here, we present performance of the TreeTalker to illustrate mainly the role of stem water content and water transport in tree behavior and function with respect to internal and external forces. TreeTalker is designed based on Granier-type thermal dissipation probe (TDP) and a capacitance sensor to measure stem water content.</p><p>In this study, two main experiments are analyzed. In the first experiment, procedures for calibration and use of capacitance sensors are presented. Considering the effect of wood density on frequency data, calibration is performed on different species and diameter harvested stems to convert the sensor-reported values to stem volumetric water content. In the second experiment, application of 20 TreeTalkers with particular emphasis placed on measuring hourly, daily and monthly sap flow and stem water content fluctuations under well-irrigated and deficit-irrigated treatments of Juglans regia L. was conducted on a study site in northeast of Italy.  </p><p>The results show that the range of stem water content is highly influenced by environmental factors. Stem water content has a significant portion of the daily tree water uptake. Low water storage occurs in response to drought and less soil water availability, which clarifies the high dependency of trees on stem water content under deficit-irrigated treatments. The diurnal-nocturnal pattern of stem water content and sap flow revealed an inverse relation. Such finding, still under investigation is explained by the important water recharge during the night, likely due to stem volume changes and lateral water distribution rather than by vertical flow rate. </p>