Search

The objective of the present study was to quantify the biomass and carbon stock in a Seasonal Semideciduous Forest remnant in southern Minas Gerais. Forest inventory data taken between 2010 and 2013 in permanent plots, was used to estimate biomass with an allometric equation. Basic wood density (Db) and carbon content were determined in the laboratory and the carbon stock was obtained by multiplying biomass by carbon content. The species with the lowest and highest Db were Nectandra lanceolata (0.38 g cm-3) and Machaerium villosum (0.77 g cm-3). The species that showed the lowest and highest carbon content values were Casearia decandra (41.85%) and Nectandra oppositifolia (46.57%). The biomass stock for the area was 126.92 ± 0.09 t ha-1, which corresponded to 55.91 ± 0.05 t ha -1 of carbon stock and a periodic annual increment of 3.07 t ha-1 year -1.

Machaerium villosum is an important tree species from Southeastern Brazil. We report hereby 10 new microsatellite markers to investigate the structure and genetic diversity of this species. Ninety-seven alleles were detected in 60 specimens from a natural population in Minas Gerais State. High genetic diversity has been found. The mean observed and expected heterozygosities were 0.771 and 0.802, respectively. One locus showed significant Hardy-Weinberg departure and five loci combinations showed significant linkage disequilibrium. These 10 new microsatellite loci will be used to evaluate the genetic diversity of this species in order to understand the fragmentation effects of the Brazilian Atlantic Rain Forest.

Floral organogenesis and development of the tropical legume treesDalbergia brasiliensis, Machaerium villosum, Platymiscium floribundum, andPterocarpus rotundifolius were studied using scanning electron microscopy. The aims were to compare ontogenies and to elucidate if floral ontogenetic data will provide new character states diagnostic of the tribe Dalbergieae, which is considered a basal papilionoid tribe and primarily defined on fruit characters. Organ inception is principally acropetal in all taxa studied. Carpel inception is, however, consistently precocious. InD. brasiliensis sepals are initiated in an order not previously reported in Papilionoideae. It may be considered modified helical. InP. rotundifolius the inner whorl of stamens initiate in an unusual way, this is lateral two stamens first, then the two abaxial ones, and last the adaxial one, opposed to the unidirectional order usually seen in Papilionoideae. Generally the differences in flower development among the studied genera appear at initiation and late stage in ontogenesis, rather than at mid-stage.

Objetivando caracterizar possíveis flutuações nos padrões de distribuição diamétrica foram analisadas, num intervalo de cinco anos (2000-2005), a comunidade e as populações das 15 espécies mais abundantes do compartimento arbóreo de um remanescente de Floresta Semidecídua. A distribuição diamétrica da comunidade apresentou alta concentração nas classes menores e diminuição acentuada no sentido das maiores (J-invertido), em ambos os inventários. As populações apresentaram padrões distintos, arbitrariamente distribuídos em dois grupos: Grupo 1, formado por espécies de menor porte e abundantes no sub-bosque, como Galipea jasminiflora, Allophylus edulis, Sebastiania commersoniana, Dendropanax cuneatus e Mollinedia widgrenii, e também espécies de árvores altas e pioneiras, como Acacia polyphylla e Piptadenia gonoacantha, cujas distribuições diamétricas seguiram o modelo J-invertido. Com exceção de Calycorectes acutatus, todas as demais espécies do Grupo 2 (Platycyamus regnellii, Cupania vernalis, Machaerium stipitatum, Machaerium villosum, Copaifera langsdorffii, Persea major e Cassia ferruginea) eram de maior porte, cujos adultos predominavam no dossel da floresta, elevando a área basal e apresentando densidade de indivíduos menor nas classes diamétricas inferiores. No intervalo considerado, apenas D. cuneatus alterou seu padrão de distribuição (Grupo 1-Grupo 2), enquanto as demais os acentuaram. No Grupo 1, a síndrome de dispersão preferencial era anemocórica ou autocórica, ao passo que no Grupo 2 predominava a zoocoria. Assim, o remanescente, por apresentar área pequena, forma alongada e localização semiurbana associada a um regime de intensas perturbações, pode ter ocasionado empobrecimento da fauna dispersora, prejudicando a taxa de recrutamento. Aiming to characterize possible fluctuations in the patterns of diametric distribution, the community and the populations of the 15 most abundant tree species in a fragment of semideciduous forest were analyzed in a five year interval (2000-2005). The diametric distribution of the community showed a high concentration in the smaller classes and accentuated reduction in the biggest classes (reverse-J-shape), for both surveys. The populations presented different patterns, randomly distributed in two groups. Group1, formed by species of smaller diameters and abundant in the sub-canopy, such as Galipea jasminiflora, Allophylus edulis, Sebastiania commersoniana, Dendropanax cuneatus and Mollinedia widgrenii, and also by pioneer species of high trees, Acacia polyphylla and Piptadenia gonoacantha followed the reverse-J-shape curve diametric distributions . All species of Group2 (Platycyamus regnellii, Cupania vernalis, Machaerium stipitatum, Machaerium villosum, Copaifera langsdorffii, Persea major and Cassia ferruginea) except Calycorectes acutatus, present bigger diameters, and their individual adults predominate in the forest canopy, increasing the basal area and presenting a density of smaller individuals in the lower diametric classes. In the evaluated interval, only D. cuneatus altered their distribution pattern (Group1-Group2), while the others increased. In Group1 the main dispersion syndrome is anemochory or autochory, while in Group2 the zoochory syndrome predominates. As the fragment presents a small area, elongated form and semi-urban location associated to a regime of intense disturbances, which may have caused a decrease of the fauna disperseres, compromising the recruitment rate.

A spatial autocorrelation study of enzyme loci detected by starch gel electrophoresis was performed to verify the occurrence of spatial genetic structure within two natural populations of Machaerium villosum Vog. The sampled populations were termed "Antropic Model (MA)" and "Natural Model (MN)" and they are situated in Campininha Farm areas, at Moji-Guaçu municipality, 22°10'43''-22°18'19'' S and 47°8'5"-47°11'34" W, in the state of São Paulo. Ten polymorphic loci in the MA population and nine polymorphic loci in the MN population were assessed by Moran's I autocorrelation statistic. No spatial autocorrelation was detected among individuals within sampled populations. Results are in line with other studies in woody species from tropical rain forest. Foi realizado um estudo de autocorrelação espacial em locos enzimáticos determinados por meio de eletroforese em gel de amido, com o objetivo de verificar a existência de estrutura genética espacial entre os indivíduos de duas populações naturais de Machaerium villosum Vog. As populações amostradas foram denominadas "Modelo Antrópico (MA)" e "Modelo Natural (MN)", situando-se em áreas da Fazenda Campininha, no município de Moji-Guaçu, 22°10'43''-22°18'19'' S e 47°8'5"-47°11'34" W, estado de São Paulo. Dez locos polimórficos na população MA e nove na população MN foram analisados por meio da estatística I de Moran de autocorrelação espacial. Não foi detectada a existência de estruturação genética entre os indivíduos dentro das populações estudadas. Os resultados são similares aos obtidos em outros estudos com espécies arbóreas da floresta tropical.

This study is part of a three-year project on biogenic volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from trees of the temperate warm Atlantic rainforest found in the metropolitan area of Sao Paulo City (MASP). No study of VOC emission rates from plant species has been carried out in the temperate warm Atlantic rainforest of Brazil prior to this work. Eleven species were selected (Alchornea sidifolia, Cupania oblongifolia, Cecropia pachystachia, Syagrus romanzoffiana, Casearia sylvestris, Machaerium villosum, Trema micrantha, Croton floribundus, Myrcia rostrata, Solanum erianthum and Ficus insipida) and some of them were studied in urban, sub-urban and forest areas inside the MASP in order to evaluate biogenic VOC composition at sites characterized by different emission sources. Biogenic VOC emissions were determined by placing branches of plants in a dynamic enclosure system, an all-Teflon cuvette, and by sampling the compounds in the air leaving the cuvette. Pre-concentration using adsorbents to retain the VOC, followed by GC-MS after thermal desorption of the sample, was employed to determine the amount of biogenic hydrocarbons. The collection of carbonyl compounds on a 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine coated silica followed by HPLC-UV was used to analyze low molecular weight carbonyl compounds. Emission rates of isoprene, alpha-pinene, camphene and limonene ranged from 0.01 to 2.16 microg C h(-1) g(-1) and emission rates of aldehydes (C(2)-C(6)), acrolein, methacrolein and 2-butanone ranged from 1.5 x 10(-2) to 2.3 micro g C h(-1) g (-1). Ambient and leaf temperatures, relative humidity, light intensity, O(3) and NO(x) levels in the local atmosphere were monitored during experiments. It was possible to identify different biogenic VOCs emitted from typical plants of temperate warm Atlantic rainforest. The emission rates were reported as a function of the type of site investigated and were only provided for compounds for which quantification was feasible. Other biogenic compounds were only identified.

A new species of mite, Eotetranychus queirozi n.sp. (Acari: Tetranvchidae), is described and illustrated. It is collected from Machaerium villosum Vog. (Leguminosae), Piracicaba, Sao Paulo , Brazil.

This work presents a comparative study of the antioxidant activity of extracts from nine plant species belonging to the Brazilian flora - Swartzia langsdorffii, Machaerium villosum, Pterogyne nitens, Pera glabrata, Aegiphyla sellowiana, Copaifera langsdorffii, Chrysophyllum inornatum, Iryanthera juruensis, Didymopanax venosum - acting on the free-radicals DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) and TEMPOL (4-hydroxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-piperidinyloxy-1-oxyl) by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), and acting on the hydroxyl radical (OH•) by the spin-trapping technique generated by a Fenton reaction. Results showed that the extracts of Iryanthera juruensis and Chrysophyllum inornatum display the strongest antioxidant activities. The results of scavenging tests were clarified by computational calculations - density functional theory (DFT), local density approximation (LDA) with SIESTA code - indicating that the energy released in the reduction reaction of TEMPOL is less than DPPH. Due to its availability and cost DPPH is more often used in these tests than TEMPOL, however TEMPOL should be considered when studying processes dealing with smaller energies. Este trabalho apresenta um estudo comparativo da atividade antioxidante dos extratos de nove espécies de plantas pertencentes à flora brasileira - Swartzia langsdorffii, Machaerium villosum, Pterogyne nitens, Pera glabrata, Aegiphyla sellowiana, Copaifera langsdorffii, Chrysophyllum inornatum, Iryanthera juruensis, Didymopanax venosum - neutralizando os radicais livres DPPH (2,2-difenil-1-picrilhidrazil) e TEMPOL (4-hidróxi-2,2,6,6-tetrametil-1-piperidiniloxi-1-oxil) utilizando ressonância paramagnética eletrônica (RPE), e agindo sobre os radicais hidroxila (OH•) gerados por uma reação Fenton, através da técnica de spin-trapping. Os melhores resultados foram obtidos para os extratos de Iryanthera juruensis e Chrysophyllum inornatum. Os resultados dos testes foram acompanhados por cálculos computacionais dos compostos, utilizando a teoria do funcional da densidade (TFD), com aproximação local da densidade (ALD), e o código SIESTA. Os resultados indicaram que a energia liberada na reação de redução TEMPOL é inferior a DPPH. Como o DPPH é um composto de menor custo e mais disponível tem um uso mais amplo que o TEMPOL, entretanto este último deve ser considerado quando se quer estudar processos que envolvam menores energias.