Estima-se que atualmente 80% dos remanescentes florestais de Mata Atlântica estejam localizados em propriedades particulares, o que torna evidente a necessidade da conservação dessas áreas por entidades engajadas. A avaliação e o monitoramento das florestas restauradas são essenciais para o aperfeiçoamento das técnicas de restauração, contribuindo dessa forma para a manutenção e a permanência da biodiversidade nessas áreas. O presente estudo teve como objetivo avaliar a influência do tempo de restauração florestal em áreas plantadas com espécies arbóreas nativas e suas características estruturais sobre a riqueza e abundância da anurofauna de serapilheira. Os dados da presente pesquisa foram obtidos entre abril de 2011 e fevereiro de 2012, em parcelas de 5 × 5 m dispostas em 12 fragmentos localizados em três áreas de vegetação nativa e uma cronossequência (cinco meses e quatro e 11 anos de idade) de áreas restauradas, totalizando três fragmentos por idade. Em cada fragmento foram instaladas seis unidades amostrais, cada uma composta por quatro parcelas, perfazendo 288 parcelas de esforço amostral. Além da contagem de anuros, em cada parcela, com a intenção de caracterizar os micro-habitats disponíveis para os anuros dentro das diferentes florestas, foram medidas as seguintes variáveis abióticas: temperatura e umidade relativa do ar aprisionado na serapilheira, profundidade da serapilheira e cobertura do dossel. Observouse a presença de cinco espécies distribuídas em cinco famílias. A maior riqueza de espécies e abundância foram registradas nos fragmentos com 11 anos de restauração, seguida pela área de floresta nativa e pelo fragmento com cinco meses de idade. Na área com quatro anos de restauração nenhum indivíduo foi capturado. A análise de correlação de Spearman indicou que a riqueza foi significativamente correlacionada com a profundidade de serapilheira e a cobertura do dossel. Foi observada correlação positiva entre as variáveis cobertura do dossel e profundidade de serapilheira e correlação negativa entre umidade relativa do ar e temperatura relativa do ar. O teste de Kruskal-Wallis indicou diferença significativa entre os diferentes tipos de fragmentos avaliados. O teste de Wilcoxon revelou que os fragmentos de cinco meses e quatro anos não diferiram entre si, mas foram significativamente diferentes dos fragmentos de 11 anos e de floresta nativa. Ressalta-se, no entanto, a necessidade de estudos de médio e longo prazo para que se possa melhorar a compreensão dos processos envolvidos na sucessão ecológica e da ocupação desses habitats pelas espécies de anuros. / It is estimated that currently 80% of the remaining Atlantic forest are located on private properties, which makes evident the need for conservation of these areas by engaged entities. Evaluation and monitoring of restored forests are essential to improve restoration techniques, thereby contributing to the maintenance and persistence of biodiversity in these areas. The present study aimed to evaluate the influence of time of forest restoration in areas planted with native tree species and their structural characteristics on the richness and abundance of leaf litter frogs. The data set of this study was obtained between April 2011 and February 2012, on 5 × 5 m plots arranged in 12 fragments located in three areas of native vegetation and a chronosequence (five months, and four and 11 years old) of areas restored with native species, totaling three fragments by age. Four sampling stations with six sampling units were installed in each fragment, totaling 288 plots of sampling effort. In addition to counting the frogs in each plot the following abiotic variables were measured: temperature and relative humidity of the air trapped in the litter, litter depth and cover canopy. Five anuran species belonging to five families were recorded. The highest species richness and abundance were obtained in forested fragments with 11 years old, followed by the native forest area and the fragment with five months old. No individual was captured at the four years old area. The Spearman correlation analysis indicated that anuran richness was significantly correlated with the depth of leaf litter and canopy cover. Canopy cover and litter depth were positively correlated, and relative humidity and temperature of the air were negatively correlated. The Kruskal-Wallis test indicated a significant difference among different types of fragments evaluated. The Wilcoxon test revealed that five old months and four years old fragments did not differ, but they were significantly different from 11 years old and native forest fragments. It should be noted, however, the need for medium and long term studies to improve our understanding about processes involved in ecological succession and occupation of these habitats by anurans.

Les écosystèmes forestiers jouent un rôle clé en régulant des cycles du carbone (C) et des nutriments et l’érosion en cours de la biodiversité peut affecter ces fonctions écosystémiques. Ces deux dernières décennies, un effort de recherche important a cherché à comprendre comment la biodiversité affecte la productivité primaire. Le processus inverse de minéralisation du C pendant la décomposition de la matière organique est en revanche beaucoup moins étudié. Dans cette thèse, j’ai cherché à démêler les différents mécanismes par lesquels la diversité des arbres et de leurs litières foliaires affecte la décomposition des litières dans les écosystèmes forestiers d’Europe, à travers trois approches.En utilisant un réseau de placettes forestières contenant des gradients de diversité dans six types de forêts à travers l’Europe, j’ai étudié les effets de la diversité des arbres sur la décomposition de la litière via (i) des modifications de l’environnement de décomposition et (ii) les conséquences directes de la diversité des litières foliaires, avec deux expériences en sachets de litière. A travers tous les sites, alors que la richesse spécifique des arbres a eu un effet limité, la fermeture de la canopée a positivement affecté la décomposition par une modification potentielle des conditions microclimatiques. De plus, les traits moyens de qualité physique et chimique de la chute de litière et la dissimilarité de traits entre les litières d’espèces différentes ont influencé les communautés de décomposeurs permettant dans une certaine mesure de prédire la décomposition de substrats standards. Une fois ces effets pris en compte, la qualité des litières en décomposition a eu un impact supplémentaire mais relativement plus faible sur la décomposition. Ces résultats suggèrent que les effets indirects de la diversité des arbres sur la modification des conditions microenvironnementales sont plus importants pour la décomposition que les effets directs de la qualité intrinsèque des litières en décomposition.J’ai ensuite exploré le rôle des composés solubles lessivés à partir de litière d’espèces différentes sur les processus microbiens du sol par une expérience en microcosmes. Les lessivats de litière d’arbres décidus étaient qualitativement et quantitativement différents de ceux des litières de conifères et ont induit une respiration microbienne du sol plus importante. Le mélange de lessivats des différentes espèces a donné lieu à des effets non-additifs sur les processus microbiens du sol, associés à la dissimilarité de stochiométrie des lessivats. Le lessivage étant un processus dominant pendant la phase initiale de décomposition, l’identité et la diversité des lessivats peut contribuer au contrôle du recyclage du C et des nutriments.Par une troisième approche, mon but a été de mieux comprendre les mécanismes qui sous-tendent les forts effets observées des détritivores du sol sur la décomposition des litières et les effets de diversité. J’ai cherché à comprendre si la transformation de litière en fèces par le détritivores Glomeris marginata stimulait les décomposeurs microbiens, et si cette stimulation dépendait de la qualité de la litière ingérée. L’activité microbienne était stimulée pour les fèces issues de litières récalcitrantes, mais pas pour les fèces issus de litières de meilleure qualité initiale. Ainsi, les conséquences de la transformation de litière en fèces de macroarthropodes pour les décomposeurs microbiens dépend de l’espèce de litières et peut contribuer aux effets de diversité des litières.Les données collectées durant cette thèse montre que la diversité fonctionnelle des arbres peut affecter la décomposition des litières à travers plusieurs mécanismes à différentes étapes de la décomposition. Du fait de cette complexité, les conséquences des changements de diversité pour le cycle du C et des nutriments dans les forêts d’Europe peuvent être importantes, mais sont actuellement difficiles à prédire et à généraliser. / Forest ecosystems play a key role in regulating the global carbon (C) and nutrient cycles, and the ongoing erosion of biodiversity is susceptible to modify these ecosystem functions. Over the past two decades, a strong research effort was put into the understanding of how changing biodiversity impacts primary productivity. The reverse process of respiratory C loss during organic matter breakdown however, remained much less studied. In this PhD thesis, I aimed at teasing apart the different mechanisms of how tree and associated leaf litter diversity may affect litter decomposition in European forest ecosystems using three distinct approaches.First, using a network of forest plots with tree diversity gradients in six major forest types across Europe, I studied the effects of tree diversity on litter decomposition through (i) modifications of the decomposition environment and (ii) the direct consequences of leaf litter diversity, with two litterbag experiments. Across all sites, while tree species richness had only a limited effect, forest canopy closure affected decomposition positively by potentially improving microclimatic conditions. In addition, mean chemical and physical quality traits of the litterfall, and trait dissimilarity in leaf litter from different species influenced decomposer communities in a way that decomposition of the common substrates was predictable to a reasonable degree. Once these effects were accounted for, the quality of decomposing litter showed an additional, but comparatively small impact. Collectively, these results suggest that the indirect effects of tree diversity on decomposition through microenvironmental controls are more important than the direct effects of the inherent quality of decomposing litter.With a second approach using microcosms under controlled-conditions, I aimed at assessing the role of soluble compounds leached from decomposing litter of different species for microbial-driven soil processes. Leachates from litter of broadleaved deciduous species differed in composition and quantity and induced stronger soil microbial respiration than those from litter of coniferous species. When the species-specific leachates were mixed, I observed non-additive mixing effects on soil microbial processes associated to the dissimilarity in leachate stoichiometry. Since leaching is the dominant process during the initial stage of decomposition, litter leachate identity and diversity may significantly contribute to the control of carbon and nutrient cycling.Finally, in a third approach my goal was to better understand the underlying mechanisms of the observed strong effects of soil detritivores on litter decomposition and diversity effects. I investigated whether the transformation of litter into feces by the detritivore Glomeris marginata stimulated microbial decomposers, and whether this stimulation depended on the quality of the ingested litter. Microbial activity was stimulated in feces derived from recalcitrant litter, but not in feces derived from litter of higher initial quality. In conclusion, the consequences of litter transformation into macroarthropod feces for microbial decomposers is litter species-specific which may further contribute to litter diversity effects.The data collected during my PhD thesis shows that the functional diversity of trees can affect litter decomposition through various mechanisms during different stages of decomposition. As a result of this complexity, the consequences of changes in biodiversity for the carbon and nutrient cycles in European forests can be substantial, but are presently difficult to predict and to generalize.

De nombreux écosystèmes forestiers français sont développés sur des sols acides et pauvres en éléments nutritifs. Dans de nombreux contextes, la fertilité minérale de ces sols forestiers se dégrade lentement, en lien notamment avec des pressions extérieures passées ou actuelles (e.g. diminution des apports atmosphériques de nutriments, augmentation des exportations de biomasse). Ce constat préoccupe la communauté forestière et des solutions de restauration/remédiation sont souvent envisagées. L’amendement avec un produit carbonaté est une pratique connue pour réduire l'acidité du sol, améliorer le fonctionnement global de l'écosystème et compenser les pertes de nutriments causées par la récolte de biomasse. Cependant, les effets de l’amendement sur les processus et le cycle biogéochimique du calcium et magnésium dans les écosystèmes forestiers sont peu connus à ce jour. Cette étude se focalise sur le devenir du magnésium et du calcium provenant de la dissolution des produits d’amendement dans cinq hêtraies situées dans le nord de la France sur une période allant jusqu’à 45 ans après l’apport. Pour cela, les approches élémentaires « conventionnelles » ont été combinées avec une approche multi-isotopique (26/24Mg, 44/40Ca et 87/86Sr). Les données provenant des parcelles témoins mesurées tout au long de la période d'étude suggèrent, quel que soit le site considéré, que les pools échangeables de cations nutritifs dans le sol ont diminué sur les dernières décennies et que cette tendance, associée à la faible richesse chimique du sol, se reflète dans la nutrition foliaire (Ca, Mg, K, P). En comparaison des placettes témoins, les pools échangeables de Mg et de Ca dans l’horizon 0-40 cm du sol ont augmenté dans les placettes amendées durant la première décennie après l’amendement, mais les différences s’estompent après 20 à 30 ans. Cependant, l'effet de l’amendement sur la nutrition des arbres est encore observé 40 ans après l’apport, très probablement parce que le cycle biologique de ces éléments a été dynamisé par l’amendement. La réponse des écosystèmes à l’amendement varie d'un site à l'autre, en fonction de la nature du produit (CaCO3 ou Ca-MgCO3) et du niveau de richesse chimique initial du sol, les sites les plus pauvres chimiquement enregistrant les réponses les plus marquées. Les variations naturelles des rapports isotopiques du Mg, Ca et Sr, en complément des approches conventionnelles, mettent en évidence l’importance de la composante Bio des cycles biogéochimiques du Ca et Mg dans ces hêtraies à faible fertilité minérale. Ces outils isotopiques ont également permis de démontrer l'incorporation durable de Ca et Mg issus des produits d’amendement dans leur cycle biologique respectif et de mettre en évidence des modifications de fonctionnement biogéochimique des écosystèmes suite à l’amendement / In France, many forest ecosystems grow on acidic and nutrient poor soils. In numerous cases, the chemical fertility of forest soils is slowly degrading due to increasing external pressures (e.g. decreasing atmospheric inputs, increasing biomass exportations) and is a growing concern in the international forest community. Forest management often must resort to restauration/remediation practices to ensure the sustainability of the ecosystem. Forest liming with a carbonate product is a known practice to reduce soil acidity, globally improve the ecosystem functioning and compensate nutrient losses caused by biomass harvest and exportation. However, our understanding of the effects of liming on magnesium and calcium biogeochemical processes and cycling in forest ecosystems is still incomplete. This study focuses on the fate of magnesium and calcium originating from the dissolution of liming products in the soils and trees of five beech forests located in Northern France over a period up to 45 years. In order to do so, “conventional” total-element approaches were combined with a multi-isotopic approach (26/24Mg, 44/40Ca et 87/86Sr). At all five sites, the data measured in control plots throughout the study period suggest that the exchangeable pools of nutrient cations in the soil has decreased over the last several decades and that this trend, together with the low chemical fertility level of the soil, was reflected in foliar nutrition (Ca, Mg, K, P). Compared to the control plots, soil exchangeable pools of Mg and Ca in the 0-40cm layer in the limed plots increased during the first decade after liming but differences were no longer observable in soil pools after 20 to 30 years. However, the effect of liming on tree nutrition was still observed after 40 years, most probably because the biological cycling of these elements was enhanced by the lime input. The ecosystem response to the lime input varied between sites depending on the nature of the liming product (CaCO3 or Ca-MgCO3) and the initial chemical fertility level of the soil, the poorest sites showing the strongest responses. The natural variations of Mg, Ca and Sr isotopic ratios combined with conventional approaches highlight the importance of the BIO component of the biogeochemical cycling of Mg and Ca in the studied low chemical fertility beech forests. These isotopic tools also enabled to show the long-lasting incorporation of the Mg and Ca released from the liming product in the biological cycle and highlight the changes in the biogeochemical functioning of these forest ecosystems after the liming operation

Existem vários métodos empregados em estudos fitossociológicos e muitos trabalhos já se propuseram a avaliar o desempenho desses métodos. O primeiro e mais utilizado é o método de parcelas, que sempre é referido nos trabalhos como o melhor e por isso definido como base para comparação com os demais. Por esse motivo, nunca foi avaliado isoladamente. Com o presente trabalho tem-se a oportunidade de avaliar o próprio método de parcelas, comparando seus resultados com os valores paramétricos, uma vez que foi feito um censo da área amostrada e a população estatística é conhecida sem erro amostral. Os dados são de uma parcela permanente instalada em uma área de cerradão (Estação Ecológica de Assis, SP). A parcela possui 10,24 ha e todos seus indivíduos com CAP ≥ 15 cm foram marcados, georreferenciados, medidos e identificados. Foi feita uma tabela de fitossociologia para a parcela que, por se tratar de um censo, representa os valores paramétricos. Foram geradas simulações de levantamentos fitossociológicos por amostragens sistemáticas para quatro tamanhos de parcela quadrada, sendo 10 x 10 m, 20 x 20 m, 50 x 50 m e 100 x 100 m, todas com área total amostrada de 1 ha. Para a parcela de 10 x 10 m foram simuladas mais três intensidades amostrais: 75, 50 e 25 parcelas. Para cada situação de amostragem foram simuladas 1.000 amostras e para cada uma dessas amostras foi elaborada uma tabela de fitossociologia. Foi avaliado o viés das etimativas de densidade e dominância, e a alteração da posição das espécies na tabela de fitossociologia. Foi avaliada também a influência da distribuição espacial das espécies nas etimativas. Por fim, foram feitas algumas análises de atributos de comunidade que são viáveis à partir de levantamentos fitossociológicos, como densidade, área basal, curva de acumulação de espécies, número de espécies amostradas e proporção de espécies e indivíduos por classe de densidade. O método de parcelas de 10 x 10 m foi o que apresentou menor viés para as estimativas, e também menor variação na posição das espécies na tabela de fitossociologia, mas mesmo assim há um alto viés para espécies de baixa densidade e uma grande alteração na posição das espécies na tabela de fitossociologia. Com relação à distribuição espacial, espécies com densidades intermediárias têm suas estimativas mais influenciadas pela distribuição espacial do que aquelas com baixa densidade - que sempre apresentarão viés - e aquelas com alta densidade - que não apresentam viés devido ao alto número de invivíduos na amostra. As análises de tributos de comunidade mostraram que esses atributos podem ser bem estimados, levando-se em consideração apenas detalhes usuais da escolha de método para qualquer amostragem, como o número de unidades amostrais, seu tamanho e sua distribuição pela área de estudo. / Many methodologies are available for phytosociological studies, and many attempts have been made to evaluate them. The most commonly used method employs sample plots. This technique is always referred to in the literature as the basic approach and, as such, is usually defined as the benchmark to which the other methods are compared. For this reason, it has never been evaluated on its own. This work presents the opportunity to evaluate the plot method itself and compare its results with the parametric values available from a full census of a sampling area in which the complete population data is known and contains no sampling error. Data was taken from a permanent plot located in an area of forested savannah (Assis Ecological Station, SP, Brazil), that comprises an area of 10.24 ha, and all trees over 15 cm girth at breat hight were marked, georeferenced, measured and identified. Phytosociological measures were computed with the values of density and basal area for each species in the census and represent the parametric values. Simulations were made of phytosociological surveys by sistematic sampling with four square plot sizes (10 x 10 m, 20 x 20 m, 50 x 50 m, and 100 x 100 m). Additionally, three sampling intensities were simulated for the 10x10m plots (75, 50, and 25 plots). One thousand simulated surveys were performed for each sampling situation, and for each of these surveys phytosociological measures were computed. The bias in the estimates of both density and dominance was evaluated, as well as change in species importance. The influence of spatial pattern on the estimation of phytosociological measures was also evaluated. At last, some analysis of community attributes, that are feasible with phytosociological measures were made, such as density, basal area, species acummulation curves, number of species sampled and propotion of species and individuals per density group. The 10 x 10 m sample plots showed the lowest overall bias and the lowest variation in species importance, but even in this method were observed high bias and high variation. About the spatial distribution, species with very low density showed very large bias, indenpendently of spatial pattern. Spatial pattern had a clear influence on the estimates of intermediate density species, where species with more clustered pattern showed more skewed distribution. And for the species with high density, spatial pattern does not seem to play an importante role. The community attributes analysed can be well estimated with phytosociolocical measures, just taking into consideration some usual methodological details, such as sampling size and plot distributions within the study area.

Estima-se que atualmente 80% dos remanescentes florestais de Mata Atlântica estejam localizados em propriedades particulares, o que torna evidente a necessidade da conservação dessas áreas por entidades engajadas. A avaliação e o monitoramento das florestas restauradas são essenciais para o aperfeiçoamento das técnicas de restauração, contribuindo dessa forma para a manutenção e a permanência da biodiversidade nessas áreas. O presente estudo teve como objetivo avaliar a influência do tempo de restauração florestal em áreas plantadas com espécies arbóreas nativas e suas características estruturais sobre a riqueza e abundância da anurofauna de serapilheira. Os dados da presente pesquisa foram obtidos entre abril de 2011 e fevereiro de 2012, em parcelas de 5 × 5 m dispostas em 12 fragmentos localizados em três áreas de vegetação nativa e uma cronossequência (cinco meses e quatro e 11 anos de idade) de áreas restauradas, totalizando três fragmentos por idade. Em cada fragmento foram instaladas seis unidades amostrais, cada uma composta por quatro parcelas, perfazendo 288 parcelas de esforço amostral. Além da contagem de anuros, em cada parcela, com a intenção de caracterizar os micro-habitats disponíveis para os anuros dentro das diferentes florestas, foram medidas as seguintes variáveis abióticas: temperatura e umidade relativa do ar aprisionado na serapilheira, profundidade da serapilheira e cobertura do dossel. Observouse a presença de cinco espécies distribuídas em cinco famílias. A maior riqueza de espécies e abundância foram registradas nos fragmentos com 11 anos de restauração, seguida pela área de floresta nativa e pelo fragmento com cinco meses de idade. Na área com quatro anos de restauração nenhum indivíduo foi capturado. A análise de correlação de Spearman indicou que a riqueza foi significativamente correlacionada com a profundidade de serapilheira e a cobertura do dossel. Foi observada correlação positiva entre as variáveis cobertura do dossel e profundidade de serapilheira e correlação negativa entre umidade relativa do ar e temperatura relativa do ar. O teste de Kruskal-Wallis indicou diferença significativa entre os diferentes tipos de fragmentos avaliados. O teste de Wilcoxon revelou que os fragmentos de cinco meses e quatro anos não diferiram entre si, mas foram significativamente diferentes dos fragmentos de 11 anos e de floresta nativa. Ressalta-se, no entanto, a necessidade de estudos de médio e longo prazo para que se possa melhorar a compreensão dos processos envolvidos na sucessão ecológica e da ocupação desses habitats pelas espécies de anuros. / It is estimated that currently 80% of the remaining Atlantic forest are located on private properties, which makes evident the need for conservation of these areas by engaged entities. Evaluation and monitoring of restored forests are essential to improve restoration techniques, thereby contributing to the maintenance and persistence of biodiversity in these areas. The present study aimed to evaluate the influence of time of forest restoration in areas planted with native tree species and their structural characteristics on the richness and abundance of leaf litter frogs. The data set of this study was obtained between April 2011 and February 2012, on 5 × 5 m plots arranged in 12 fragments located in three areas of native vegetation and a chronosequence (five months, and four and 11 years old) of areas restored with native species, totaling three fragments by age. Four sampling stations with six sampling units were installed in each fragment, totaling 288 plots of sampling effort. In addition to counting the frogs in each plot the following abiotic variables were measured: temperature and relative humidity of the air trapped in the litter, litter depth and cover canopy. Five anuran species belonging to five families were recorded. The highest species richness and abundance were obtained in forested fragments with 11 years old, followed by the native forest area and the fragment with five months old. No individual was captured at the four years old area. The Spearman correlation analysis indicated that anuran richness was significantly correlated with the depth of leaf litter and canopy cover. Canopy cover and litter depth were positively correlated, and relative humidity and temperature of the air were negatively correlated. The Kruskal-Wallis test indicated a significant difference among different types of fragments evaluated. The Wilcoxon test revealed that five old months and four years old fragments did not differ, but they were significantly different from 11 years old and native forest fragments. It should be noted, however, the need for medium and long term studies to improve our understanding about processes involved in ecological succession and occupation of these habitats by anurans.

Existem vários métodos empregados em estudos fitossociológicos e muitos trabalhos já se propuseram a avaliar o desempenho desses métodos. O primeiro e mais utilizado é o método de parcelas, que sempre é referido nos trabalhos como o melhor e por isso definido como base para comparação com os demais. Por esse motivo, nunca foi avaliado isoladamente. Com o presente trabalho tem-se a oportunidade de avaliar o próprio método de parcelas, comparando seus resultados com os valores paramétricos, uma vez que foi feito um censo da área amostrada e a população estatística é conhecida sem erro amostral. Os dados são de uma parcela permanente instalada em uma área de cerradão (Estação Ecológica de Assis, SP). A parcela possui 10,24 ha e todos seus indivíduos com CAP ≥ 15 cm foram marcados, georreferenciados, medidos e identificados. Foi feita uma tabela de fitossociologia para a parcela que, por se tratar de um censo, representa os valores paramétricos. Foram geradas simulações de levantamentos fitossociológicos por amostragens sistemáticas para quatro tamanhos de parcela quadrada, sendo 10 x 10 m, 20 x 20 m, 50 x 50 m e 100 x 100 m, todas com área total amostrada de 1 ha. Para a parcela de 10 x 10 m foram simuladas mais três intensidades amostrais: 75, 50 e 25 parcelas. Para cada situação de amostragem foram simuladas 1.000 amostras e para cada uma dessas amostras foi elaborada uma tabela de fitossociologia. Foi avaliado o viés das etimativas de densidade e dominância, e a alteração da posição das espécies na tabela de fitossociologia. Foi avaliada também a influência da distribuição espacial das espécies nas etimativas. Por fim, foram feitas algumas análises de atributos de comunidade que são viáveis à partir de levantamentos fitossociológicos, como densidade, área basal, curva de acumulação de espécies, número de espécies amostradas e proporção de espécies e indivíduos por classe de densidade. O método de parcelas de 10 x 10 m foi o que apresentou menor viés para as estimativas, e também menor variação na posição das espécies na tabela de fitossociologia, mas mesmo assim há um alto viés para espécies de baixa densidade e uma grande alteração na posição das espécies na tabela de fitossociologia. Com relação à distribuição espacial, espécies com densidades intermediárias têm suas estimativas mais influenciadas pela distribuição espacial do que aquelas com baixa densidade - que sempre apresentarão viés - e aquelas com alta densidade - que não apresentam viés devido ao alto número de invivíduos na amostra. As análises de tributos de comunidade mostraram que esses atributos podem ser bem estimados, levando-se em consideração apenas detalhes usuais da escolha de método para qualquer amostragem, como o número de unidades amostrais, seu tamanho e sua distribuição pela área de estudo. / Many methodologies are available for phytosociological studies, and many attempts have been made to evaluate them. The most commonly used method employs sample plots. This technique is always referred to in the literature as the basic approach and, as such, is usually defined as the benchmark to which the other methods are compared. For this reason, it has never been evaluated on its own. This work presents the opportunity to evaluate the plot method itself and compare its results with the parametric values available from a full census of a sampling area in which the complete population data is known and contains no sampling error. Data was taken from a permanent plot located in an area of forested savannah (Assis Ecological Station, SP, Brazil), that comprises an area of 10.24 ha, and all trees over 15 cm girth at breat hight were marked, georeferenced, measured and identified. Phytosociological measures were computed with the values of density and basal area for each species in the census and represent the parametric values. Simulations were made of phytosociological surveys by sistematic sampling with four square plot sizes (10 x 10 m, 20 x 20 m, 50 x 50 m, and 100 x 100 m). Additionally, three sampling intensities were simulated for the 10x10m plots (75, 50, and 25 plots). One thousand simulated surveys were performed for each sampling situation, and for each of these surveys phytosociological measures were computed. The bias in the estimates of both density and dominance was evaluated, as well as change in species importance. The influence of spatial pattern on the estimation of phytosociological measures was also evaluated. At last, some analysis of community attributes, that are feasible with phytosociological measures were made, such as density, basal area, species acummulation curves, number of species sampled and propotion of species and individuals per density group. The 10 x 10 m sample plots showed the lowest overall bias and the lowest variation in species importance, but even in this method were observed high bias and high variation. About the spatial distribution, species with very low density showed very large bias, indenpendently of spatial pattern. Spatial pattern had a clear influence on the estimates of intermediate density species, where species with more clustered pattern showed more skewed distribution. And for the species with high density, spatial pattern does not seem to play an importante role. The community attributes analysed can be well estimated with phytosociolocical measures, just taking into consideration some usual methodological details, such as sampling size and plot distributions within the study area.

The land-atmospheric exchanges of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) are major drivers of global warming and climatic changes. The greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes indicate the dynamics and potential storage of carbon in terrestrial and wetland ecosystems. Appropriate modeling and prediction tools can provide a quantitative understanding and valuable insights into the ecosystem carbon dynamics, while aiding the development of engineering and management strategies to limit emissions of GHGs and enhance carbon sequestration. This dissertation focuses on the development of data-analytics tools and engineering models by employing a range of empirical and semi-mechanistic approaches to robustly predict ecosystem GHG fluxes at variable scales. Scaling-based empirical models were developed by using an extended stochastic harmonic analysis algorithm to achieve spatiotemporally robust predictions of the diurnal cycles of net ecosystem exchange (NEE). A single set of model parameters representing different days/sites successfully estimated the diurnal NEE cycles for various ecosystems. A systematic data-analytics framework was then developed to determine the mechanistic, relative linkages of various climatic and environmental drivers with the GHG fluxes. The analytics, involving big data for diverse ecosystems of the AmeriFLUX network, revealed robust latent patterns: a strong control of radiation-energy variables, a moderate control of temperature-hydrology variables, and a relatively weak control of aerodynamic variables on the terrestrial CO2 fluxes. The data-analytics framework was then employed to determine the relative controls of different climatic, biogeochemical and ecological drivers on CO2 and CH4 fluxes from coastal wetlands. The knowledge was leveraged to develop nonlinear, predictive models of GHG fluxes using a small set of environmental variables. The models were presented in an Excel spreadsheet as an ecological engineering tool to estimate and predict the net ecosystem carbon balance of the wetland ecosystems. The research also investigated the emergent biogeochemical-ecological similitude and scaling laws of wetland GHG fluxes by employing dimensional analysis from fluid mechanics. Two environmental regimes were found to govern the wetland GHG fluxes. The discovered similitude and scaling laws can guide the development of data-based mechanistic models to robustly predict wetland GHG fluxes under a changing climate and environment.

Microbial communities inhabiting upper soil horizons represent an important component of forest ecosystems. However, despite the evidence that yeasts represent an integral part of topsoil fungal communities, their role in forest ecosystems received so far little attention. The aims of my PhD thesis were to describe yeast communities in soil and litter of a temperate forest using high- throughput sequencing of environmental DNA, identify dominant yeast species and to explore how the composition of yeast communities reflects the biotic and abiotic factors of the environment. I also aimed to isolate yeasts from forest topsoil, describe novel yeast taxa abundant according to the environmental DNA survey and screen representative isolates for the traits relevant to their involvement in organic matter transformation. I have demonstrated that in forest topsoil, yeasts represent a substantial proportion of fungal communities with higher relative abundance in soil than in litter. In litter, yeast communities differ significantly among beech, oak and spruce-dominated stands. Drivers of community assembly are probably more complex in soils and comprise the effects of soil chemistry and vegetation. Even though there are similarities in the response of the communities of yeasts and filamentous fungi to...

This pilot study was conducted to test if there are differences in occurrence of red-listed xylophagous fungi in forests dependent on degrees of human impact on the forests. Three main degrees of human impact was investigated: little impact (natural forest); medium impact (semi-natural forest) and high impact (monoculture plantation). These forests were compared in three geographically distinct areas within the same municipality, Vindeln. Within each forest type, three experimental plots were randomly selected, resulting in a total of 27 research plots. The study was conducted in northern Sweden, Västerbotten county in the following locations: Svartberget, Skatan and Kulbäcksliden. The pilot study found significant differences between natural forests and monoculture plantations. The natural forests harboured the most red-listed species, followed by the semi-natural forests, while the monoculture plantations had the fewest. The semi-natural was closer to the natural forest but did not yield significant differences when comparing the various areas. Despite the small dataset, the results are clear that the natural forests harbour the highest abundance of red-listed xylophagous fungi when comparing the degree of human impact in three different forest ecosystems.

A Araucaria angustifolia (Bertoloni) O. Ktze. é uma espécie de elevado valor sócio-econômico e ambiental, característica da floresta subtropical brasileira. Por sua excelente qualidade e ampla utilização de sua madeira ela tem sido uma das espécies nativas mais exploradas no Brasil. Atualmente, encontra-se presente na lista oficial de espécies da flora brasileira ameaçadas de extinção, exigindo emprego imediato de tecnologias visando sua manutenção e recuperação. O objetivo desse trabalho foi estabelecer as alterações da comunidade da macrofauna edáfica decorrentes do manejo e da ação do fogo em ecossistemas com araucária nativa e ecossistemas com araucária introduzida, no município de Campos do Jordão (SP). A macrofauna foi coletada em superfície amostral de 25 x 25 cm, nas profundidades do solo de 0-10, 10-20 e 20-30 cm e na serapilheira. Os pontos de amostragens ficaram distanciados 10 metros entre si, ao longo de um transecto determinado ao acaso. Foram coletadas dez amostras por ecossistema, nos meses de outubro de 2002 e março de 2003, caracterizados como sendo de período seco e período chuvoso, respectivamente. Alterações na densidade e diversidade da macrofauna do solo foram observadas nos ecossistemas que sofreram intervenção na sua cobertura vegetal. A ocorrência do fogo acarretou em baixa qualidade da serapilheira, tendo sido esta agravada na época seca. Os resultados demonstraram que a fauna está correlacionada com os parâmetros químicos da serapilheira e do solo nestes ecossistemas. As características químicas do solo e da serapilheira, aliadas às condições climáticas, contribuiram para as alterações nesta comunidade. / Araucaria angustifolia (Bertoloni) O. Ktze. is a species with a high socialeconomical and envirommental value, and it is characteristic of the subtropical Brazilian forest. Due to the excellent quality of the wood, it has been one of the most exploited native species in Brazil. Today this tree is considered an endangered species, requiring maintenance and recuperation through an immediate use of technologies. This study had the objective to evaluate the changes in the soil macrofauna community in an ecosystem with native araucaria and in replanted areas in Campos do Jordão, São Paulo, Brazil. The macrofauna was collected in 25 x 25 cm areas, at 0-10, 10-20 and 20-30 cm soil depth and in the litter. Along the transect determined at random, the sampling points were distributed with 10 meter distance from one another. Was collected ten sampling points por ecossistema. in october 2002 and in march 2003, which represent the dry and rainy seasons, respectively. Changes in density and diversity of the soil macrofauna due to an intervention in the litter layer were observed. The litter was partially eliminated by the fire and its quality was even worse in the dry season. The results suggest that there is a great influence of soil chemical parameters as well as of the climatic conditions upon the soil macrofauna.