As mudanças no uso do solo, como por exemplo a remoção de áreas florestais para a implantação da agricultura e pecuária, promovem alterações no teor de matéria orgânica do solo. Em contrapartida, a regeneração natural surge como uma possibilidade do reestabelecimento parcial de funções ecológicas importantes, com destaque para o papel das florestas secundárias na redução do fluxo de gases atmosféricos, na influência da qualidade e quantidade da água, e no sequestro de carbono da atmosfera e estocagem no solo. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o comportamento do carbono e do nitrogênio no solo ao longo da sequência cronológica de florestas secundárias, comparando-as com floresta madura e pastagens no município de Rio Claro (SP). Com o auxílio de imagens aéreas (dos anos de 1978, 1995, 2000 e 2008) foram selecionadas 15 parcelas com 900 m2 cada, as quais consistiram em uma sequência temporal de florestas secundárias regeneradas sob pastagem (apresentando 8 a 16 anos (FS12), 21 a 38 anos (FS30) e 38 a 54 anos (FS46)), além de floresta \"fonte\" (floresta estacional semidecidual) com mais de 55 anos (FF) e pastagem em uso há mais de 50 anos (PA50). O solo da área de estudo é classificado como Argissolo de textura média. As concentrações e estoques de carbono (C) e nitrogênio (N) e os valores isotópicos de C (?13C) foram analisados na serapilheira e nas camadas de 0-10, 10-20 e 20-30 cm do solo. A análise de ?13C indicou presença do sinal isotópico oriundo de vegetação C3 já nos primeiros 12 anos de regeneração, representando 60% do C presente no solo (proveniente da FF e da FS12). Na área de pastagem foi constatada a presença de carbono remanescente da floresta nativa (C3), correspondendo por 30% do carbono total. A análise de componentes principais definiu os agrupamentos de acordo com as áreas de estudo, além de correlacionar negativamente os estoques de carbono e nitrogênio e os teores de areia. As florestas secundárias apresentaram estoques de carbono e nitrogênio na serapilheira próximos à floresta fonte (1,8 Mg C ha-1 e 0,10 Mg N ha-1). Os estoques de C e N no solo (0-30 cm) foram maiores na floresta fonte (74,1 Mg C ha-1 e 7,6 Mg N ha-1), ocorrendo brusca redução (40%) na conversão para pastagem (41,4 Mg C ha-1 e 4,7 Mg N ha-1). Além disso, as áreas de regeneração não diferiram da área de pastagem quanto aos estoques de carbono e nitrogênio no solo / Changes in soil use, such as the removal of forest areas for the implantation of agriculture and livestock, promote changes in soil organic matter content. Due to this imbalance between the inputs and outputs of plant material in the system the MOS dynamics will be changed, affecting the ecosystem as a whole. On the other hand, natural regeneration appears as a possibility for the partial reestablishment of important ecological functions, with emphasis on the role of secondary forests in the reduction of the flow of atmospheric gases, the influence of water quality and quantity, and sequestration of carbon from the atmosphere and storage in the soil. The objective of this work was to evaluate the behavior of carbon and nitrogen in the soil along the chronological sequence of secondary forests, comparing them with old growth forest and pastures in Rio Claro (SP). Fifteen plots with 900 m2 each were selected using aerial images (from 1978, 1995, 2000 and 2008), which consisted of a temporal sequence of regenerated secondary forests under pasture (8 to 16 years old (FS12) 21 to 38 years old (FS30) and 38 to 54 years old (FS46)), as well as an old growth forest (seasonal semideciduous forest) with more than 55 years (FF) and pasture in use for more than 50 years (PA50). The soil of the study area is classified as Argissolo. with medium texture. The concentrations and stocks of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) and the isotopic values of C (?13C) were analyzed in the litter and in the layers of 0-10, 10-20 and 20-30 cm of the soil. The analysis of ?13C indicated the presence of the isotopic signal from C3 vegetation already in the first 12 years of regeneration, representing 60% of the C present in the soil (coming from FF and FS12). In the pasture area, the remaining carbon of the native forest (C3) was observed, corresponding to 30% of the total carbon. The principal components analysis defined the groupings according to the study areas, in addition to negatively correlating the carbon and nitrogen stocks and the sand contents. Secondary forests presented carbon and nitrogen stocks in the litter approximate to the old growth forest (1,8 Mg C ha-1 and 0,10 Mg N ha-1). C and N stocks in the soil (0-30 cm) were higher in the old growth forest (74,1 Mg C ha-1 and 7,6 Mg N ha-1), with an abrupt reduction (40%) in conversion to pasture (41,4 Mg C ha-1 and 4,7 Mg N ha-1). In addition, the regeneration areas did not differ from the pasture area for carbon and nitrogen stocks in the soil

The aim of this thesis was to create the botanic snap of the chosen locations, which were meadows, grasslands, pastures and also fallow grass areas, to determine the area coverage of three main agrobotanic species i.e. grass, herbs and clover, to process it with the statistcal software and determine the method and intensity of use and fertilization of individual locations and suggest the suitable prato-technical methods. The cenological structure of the locations has been observed and described using botanic snaps. The prato-technic method used were documented for each of the locations and evaluated the influence on the cenological structure. The research was performed in locations Vřeskovice, Čeletice, Městiště in the region Pilsen, former district of Klatovy. In each location the botanic snaps were taken from 3 areas of about 5 x 6 meters each. There were determined the area coverage of grass, herbs and clovers and calculated the mean indication value of humidity. Mean indication value of humidity is the parameter usable for determination of permanent grassland management and utilization. The data from the research was elaborated in software MS Excel. I recommend to manage the analyzed permanent grasslands as follows: 1. The meadow Vřeskovice behind the sewage cleaning station - additional sow of perennial rye grass, meadow clover and white clover. 2. The meadow Mstice - total recovery alternatively conservative prato-technic measures - manure fertilization for about 20t/ha and additional sow of meadow and white clover and grass - red fescue, blue grass and perennial ryegrass. 3. The meadow above the transformer station Vřeskovice - keep on current management od additional clovers sow. 4. The pasture Čeletice grazed by horses - keep on current management or additional sow of red fescue, tall fescue and timothy grass. 5. The meadow Městiště with combined utilization by cattle pasture and mowing - keep on current way of use. 6. The pasture Vřeskovice grazed by cattle - keep on current utilization or additional sow meadow and white clover. 7. The pasture Vřeskovice grazed by sheep - keep on the current utilization, in future after the reduction of dangerous knapweed to decrease the amount of pastured animals. 8. The fallow meadow Vřeskovice behind Petrovický neither mowed nor pastured - proposed mulching twice a year for about 1 or 2 years, then pasture or pasture of extensive cattle breed (Galloway) or sheep or periodical mowing once or twice a year. 9. The fallow meadow Vřeskovice trench at the farmhouse - leave as a fallow meadow improves the biodivesity, optionally to mow once or twice a year from estetical reasons.

Os sistemas silvipastoris têm despertado interesse por permitir amplas possibilidades de combinar plantas no espaço e no tempo com múltiplos atributos. O Brasil possui a maior variedade de espécies florestais nativas do planeta e condições climatológicas favoráveis à produção de forragens tropicais. Dessa forma, objetivou-se avaliar parâmetros produtivos e morfofisiológicos de Brachiaria decumbens em relação aos renques de árvores de um sistema silvipastoril implantado com espécies arbóreas nativas e sua relações com variáveis microclimáticas (transmissividade da radiação fotossinteticamente ativa e armazenamento de água no solo). Para isso foi conduzido um experimento no campo experimental da Embrapa Pecuária Sudeste, em São Carlos SP, entre novembro de 2009 e abril de 2011. O delineamento experimental foi aleatorizado em blocos completos. O efeito da distância das árvores sobre a massa de material morto, densidade, massa de forragem, massa de folha e de colmos, índice de área foliar, área foliar específica, relação folha:colmo, transmissividade e armazenamento de água foi avaliada ao longo das estações do ano. A interação distância x estação influenciou todas as variáveis analisadas da forragem e a transmissividade da radiação fotossinteticamente ativa. As variações dos níveis de armazenamento de água no solo entre as distâncias foram semelhantes, no entanto observou-se uma variação em relação ao volume em algumas épocas, principalmente entre os perfis. A transmissividade média da radiação fotossintética ativa foi de 38, 59, 81 e 89% para as distâncias 0,0, 2,0, 4,75 e 8,5 m, em relação as árvores tutoras, respectivamente. Entre as maiores distâncias só houve diferença da transmissividade no Outono quando 4,75 m foi 12% menor em relação à distância de 8,5 m. A massa de forragem, de colmo foi semelhante até o Outono de 2010 e a partir do inverno aumentou conforme a maior distância das árvores. A massa de folhas, no Inverno 2010 e Verão 2011, foi menor a 2,0 m em relação às distâncias 4,75 e 8,5 m, porém na Primavera 2010 foi igual para as três distâncias. A 8,5 m das árvores, a relação folha: colmo só foi maior que as outras distâncias no Inverno 2010 e Verão 2011. Com exceção da Primavera 2009, em todas as estações, à distância 2,0 m teve relação folha: colmo menor que as distâncias 4,75 e/ou 8,5 m. A Primavera 2010 não apresentou diferença entre as distâncias contrariamente ao que foi relatado para o Inverno 2010 e o Verão 2011. A 2,0 m das árvores, observou-se maior área foliar específica na Primavera 2009, Outono e Inverno de 2010. A redução na transmissividade da radiação fotossinteticamente ativa em 47% a 2,0 m das árvores tutoras, no verão, ocasiona diminuição de 40% na massa de forragem de B. decumbens, comparada com a distância de 8,5 m com 11% de sombreamento. Sombreamentos de até 26%, não afeta a densidade, massa de forragem, massa de material morto, massa de colmos e massa de folhas de B. decumbens. Transmissividade da radiação fotossinteticamente ativa menor que 66% afeta a estrutura do dossel e componentes morfológicos de B. decumbens. / The silvopastoral systems have attracted interest because it allows a lot of possibilities of combining plants in space and time with multiple attributes. Brazil has the largest variety of native species on the planet and favorable climatological conditions for the production of tropical forages. This work aimed to evaluate the productive and morphophysiological Brachiaria decumbens in relation to the rows of trees in a silvopastoral system deployed with native tree species and their relationships with microclimatic variables (transmissivity of photosynthetically active radiation and soil water storage). For this purpose an experiment was conducted at the experimental field of Embrapa Southeast Cattle in Sao Carlos - SP, between November 2009 and April 2011. The experimental design was randomized complete block. The effect of distance from trees on the mass of dead material, density, herbage mass, leaf and stem, leaf area index, specific leaf area, leaf: stem ratio, transmissivity and storage of water was evaluated along the seasons. The interaction distance x season influenced all variables of forage and transmissivity of photosynthetically active radiation. Changes in levels of water storage in soil between the distances are similar, however there was a variation in the volume at some times, especially between the profiles. The average transmission of photosynthetic active radiation was 38, 59, 81 and 89% for the distances 0.0, 2.0, 4.75 and 8.5 m, for tutors trees respectively. Among the larger distances only difference was in the autumn when transmissivity of 4.75 m was 12% lower compared to the distance of 8.5 m. The forage mass, stem was similar to the autumn of 2010 and from winter increased with greater distance from the trees. The mass of leaves in winter 2010 and summer 2011 was less than 2.0 m in relation to the distances 4.75 and 8.5 m, but in spring 2010 was the same for all three distances. 8.5 m from the trees, the leaf: stem ratio was not larger than the other distances in winter 2010 and summer 2011. With the exception of spring 2009 in all seasons, at a distance 2.0 m had leaf: stem ratio smaller than the distances 4.75 and / or 8.5 m. Spring 2010 showed no difference between the distances contrary to what was reported for the winter 2010 and summer 2011. The 2.0 m from the trees, there was a higher specific leaf area in spring 2009, autumn and winter of 2010. The reduction in the transmissivity of photosynthetically active radiation by 47% to 2.0m trees tutors in the summer causes a decrease of 40% of forage mass of B. decumbens, compared with the distance of 8.5 m with 11% shading. Shades under 26%, does not affect the density, forage mass, mass of dead material, stalk weight and mass of leaves of B. decumbens. Transmissivity of photosynthetically active radiation affects less than 66% canopy structure and morphological components of B. decumbens.

Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-21T18:15:20Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Marina Comerlatto da Rosa.pdf: 4715462 bytes, checksum: 33d2627d4f49c3c39739ca7d9ddb777b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-12-04 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / ‘Souhtern Grasslands’ is the biogeographical term assigned by the Brazilian Governmentto the natural field extensions present in the Mata Atlântica and Pampa Domains that correspond to the biogeographical provinces ‘Paranaense’ and ‘Pampeana’, respectivelly. The spatial delineation of the Campos District in the Paranaense Province, within the southern portion of the Atlantic Forest Domain comprises the native grasslands of State of Parana (‘Campos Gerais’, ‘Campos de Guarapuava’ and ‘Campos de Palmas’) Santa Catarina (‘Campos de Palmas’ / ‘Água Doce’ and ‘Planalto de Lages’), and Rio Grande do Sul (‘Campos de Cima da Serra’). Despite their homogeneous appearance, ‘Souhtern Grasslands’ may show significant differences in their composition depending on the environmental conditions and the evolution of the flora in the two provinces involved. In this sense, to elucidate the biogeographic relationships of native grasslands of the ‘Campos Gerais’ in Paranaense Province means establish whether the plant communities comprise marginal areas of geographic scale or, conversely, compound species dispersal center, or even species routes from dispersion centers out of ‘Campos Gerais’. This study therefore aims to determine the biogeographical relationships among remnants of native grasslands in the Escarpa Devoniana Environmental Protection Area. For this, we used a presence/absence matrix composed by 414 species from phytosociological data, and 1,375 species from floristic surveys from nine plant communities: CPI - Piraí da Serra, EGU - Guartelá State Park, SJ – São João River, CPG - Pitangui Valley, CAP – Capão da Onça, FG / BP - Furnas Gêmeas and Buraco do Padre, CIA - IAPAR Model Farm, EVV - Vila Velha State Park, and CBN – Ponte dos Arcos. Just two of them are within protect areas. It were calculated the Biogeographycal Similarity Coefficient as well Harrison and Wilson & Schmida beta diversity indices. Once there was lack of spatial autocorrelation (Moran Correlogram), for the floristic similarity calculation we used multivariate statistical analysis. The contemporary vegetation is a confluence between marginal areas of the geographical range of southern grasslands and northern subtropical savannah (Cerrado Domain). There were no evidences of this region as a dispersion center nor corridor between other dispersion centers in the Mata Atlântica Domain. Ecotonal areas lead to biodiversity increase as well point out their extreme vulnerability to climate or anthropogenic disturbances. / Campos Sulinos é o termo biogeográfico atribuído pelo Ministério do Meio Ambiente às extensões campestres presentes nos biomas Mata Atlântica e Pampa, correspondendo às províncias biogeográficas Paranaense e Pampeana, respectivamente. A delimitação espacial fitofisionômica do Distrito dos Campos na Província Paranaense, contida integralmente na porção austral do Bioma Mata Atlântica compreende os campos nativos do Estado do Paraná (Campos Gerais, Campos de Guarapuava e Campos de Palmas) Santa Catarina (Campos de Palmas /Água Doce e Planalto de Lages) e Rio Grande do Sul (Campos de Cima da Serra). Apesar da aparência homogênea, os Campos Sulinos podem apresentar expressivas diferenças em sua composição, dependendo das condições ambientais e da evolução da flora nas duas províncias envolvidas. Neste sentido, elucidar as relações biogeográficas dos campos nativos dos Campos Gerais na Província Paranaense, envolveu estabelecer se as fitocenoses constituem área marginal de amplitude geográfica ou, ao contrário, centro de dispersão de espécies, ou ainda rotas percorridas por espécies oriundas de centros de dispersão fora dos Campos Gerais. Este estudo pretende, portanto, determinar as relações biogeográficas a partir de remanescentes de campos nativos contidos na APA da Escarpa Devoniana. Para tanto, utilizou-se uma matriz de presença/ausência composta por 414 espécies oriundas de dados fitossociológicos e 1.375 espécies constantes de levantamentos florísticos de nove fitocenoses: CPI - Piraí da Serra, EGU - Parque Estadual do Guartelá, SJ - rio São João, CPG - Vale do Pitangui e Alagados, CAP - Capão da Onça, FG/BP - Furnas Gêmeas e Buraco do Padre, CIA - Fazenda Modelo do IAPAR, EVV - Parque Estadual de Vila Velha e CBN - Ponte dos Arcos, sendo duas em unidades de conservação de proteção integral. Calculou-se o Coeficiente de Semelhança Biogeográfica bem como os índices de diversidade beta de Harrison e de Wilson e Schmida. Verificada a inexistência de autocorrelação espacial entre as fitocenoses (Correlograma de Moran), para o cálculo de similaridade florística utilizou-se análise estatística multivariada. Os campos nativos na região constituem a confluência ecotonal das áreas marginais de amplitude geográfica setentrional da Estepe gramíneo-lenhosa e austral da Savana gramíneo-lenhosa (Bioma Cerrado). Não foram encontradas evidências que suportem a região como sendo centro de dispersão de espécies, tampouco corredor entre dois centros de dispersão no Bioma Mata Atlântica. Áreas ecotonais propiciam um aumento na biodiversidade ao mesmo tempo que apontam comunidades em extrema vulnerabilidade a distúrbios climáticos ou antrópicos.

A identificação de atributos funcionais de colêmbolos associada com sua caracterização taxonômica responde aos impactos causados por mudanças de uso e manejo, além de terem um efeito sobre os processos funcionais do solo. Além disso, a descrição de atributos funcionais visa também atender o crescente interesse de investigar mecanismos relacionados com os processos de montagem de comunidade, tais como a convergência e divergência de atributos funcionais. Este trabalho teve três objetivos: 1) investigar a composição e estrutura de comunidades de colêmbolos em relação a alterações de uso do solo e diferentes ofertas de forragem através de uma abordagem funcional e taxonômica; 2) avaliar a existência de filtros ambientais e diferenciação de nichos dentro das comunidades; 3) avaliar o efeito de diferentes grupos funcionais dos colêmbolos no funcionamento do solo. Para isto, foram realizamos três estudos, sendo avaliados no primeiro estudo diferentes usos do solo (mata, campo e eucalipto) e no segundo estudo quatro níveis de ofertas de forragem. Como resultado principal de ambos os estudos, observamos que os de índices taxonômicos, tais como riqueza e diversidade de espécies, podem apresentar padrões diferentes dos índices funcionais, porém ambas as abordagens foram sensíveis aos tratamentos avaliados. De modo geral, o aumento da riqueza e diversidade de colêmbolos não é diretamente relacionado com o aumento da diversidade funcional. Também foi observado em ambos os estudos que a composição e estrutura das comunidades de colêmbolos foram afetadas significativamente pela existência de um filtro ambiental e pela diferenciação de nicho ecológico, uma vez que observamos convergência e divergência de atributos funcionais significativamente relacionados com os gradientes estudados. O terceiro estudo, realizado em condições de microcosmos, consistiram em 6 tratamentos e um controle, sendo os tratamento a combinação de diferentes grupos funcionais de colêmbolos. De modo geral, os resultados mostram que a presença de colêmbolos não afetou significativamente o tamanho da comunidade microbiana do solo, porém estimulou a mineralização de C e N. A presença de apenas um grupo funcional de colêmbolos estimulou a atividade microbiana, sendo estes significativamente diferentes do tratamento controle. Estas diferenças são ainda maiores quando há duas e três grupos funcionais no mesmo microcosmo. O estímulo sobre a comunidade microbiana possivelmente deve-se aos diferentes nichos ocupados pelos colêmbolos dentro do solo, pelas modificações na composição microbiana e pela redistribuição de nutrientes no interior do solo. Palavra-chave: colêmbolos; filtro ambiental; interação biológica; regras de montagem; campos; uso do solo; grupo funcional; atributo funcional; convergência de atributos; divergência de atributos. / Traits-based approach (functional traits) associated with taxonomical description in collembolan communities can response to environmental changes and have a directly effect on soil functioning. Furthermore, trait-based approach also aims to attend the growing interest in investigating mechanisms that are related to assembly process in communities, such as trait-convergence and trait-divergence assembly patterns. This work was three objective: 1) investigating the composition and structure of Collembola communities regarding environmental changes in soil and litter induced by land-use and grassland management using both taxonomic and functional approaches; 2) assessing the existence of environmental filtering and biotic interaction within collembolan communities; 3) evaluating the effect of three collembolan life-form on soil functioning. To this, we carried out three studies to investigate these objectives which two of them was carried out in three land-uses types (study 1) and four herbage allowance (study 2).The results of the studies 1 and 2 showed that taxonomic indices such as richness and taxonomical diversity and functional indices can have different patterns in collembolan communities, but both approaches are sensitive to the treatments evaluated. In general, increasing the richness and diversity of collembola was not directly related with the increase of the functional diversity. We also observed in both studies the composition and structure of Collembolan communities are significantly affected by the existence of an environmental filtering and biotic interaction, since we observed significantly trait-convergence and trait- divergence related to ecological gradients tested. Our findings show that functional traits provide a better understanding of the response of communities to biotic and abiotic changes. The third study was carried out in microcosm conditions and consisted of 6 different combinations of collembolan life-form. Overall, our results showed that collembolan life-forms did not significantly affect microbial biomass but collembolan life-forms affected microbial activities. The presence of only one life-form stimulated C and N mineralization regarding to their CO2 and enzymatic activities, but these stimulations were higher when there was two or three life-forms in the same microcosm. We suggest that stimulation on the microbial community is due to different niches occupied by each collembolan life-form, the changes on microbial composition and redistribution of nutrients in the soil.

Esse estudo analisou a dinâmica da produção de alimentos no estado do Rio Grande do Sul e suas consequências para as alterações nas áreas de pastagens naturais no Bioma Pampa. Para tanto, foram analisadas as mudanças no uso da terra nos municípios conforme os Censos Agropecuários de 1975, 1985, 1995/1996 e 2006 e da produção de alimentos de acordo com os relatórios de produção agrícola e pecuária municipais do Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE). Para analisar as variações na área das culturas e quantidade produzida foi calculado um índice de crescimento relativo. Os municípios foram ordenados conforme a área das categorias em seu território e sua localização por Escalonamento Multidimensional Não Métrico (NMDS). A influência do bioma sobre o uso da terra foi analisada por ENVIFIT e a diferença entre as categorias por PERMANOVA, no software R. No Bioma Pampa ocorreu um decréscimo de 26% nas pastagens naturais desde 1975, apresentando decréscimo de até 12.5%, entre 1975 e 1985. Destacam-se as taxas das lavouras e matas artificiais, em que para lavouras temporárias, apresentaram um crescimento considerável de 1985 para 2005. A influência do Bioma Pampa na composição das categorias de uso da terra manteve-se entre 14 e 15%, havendo diferença entre municípios localizados no Bioma Pampa em todos os anos analisados. Ao longo do tempo foi possível observar uma movimentação significativa das lavouras temporárias e das matas artificiais que principalmente entre 1995 e 2005 começam a integrar a paisagem do bioma. Para enfrentar o desafio de manter atividades agroecológicas em biomas ameaçados o Brasil deve investir em fiscalização, desenvolvendo sistemas de monitoramento capazes de detectar sutis alterações no uso da terra. Por outro lado, a produção de alimentos nesse estado apresentou crescimento na quantidade produzida. Foi observado um crescimento elevado na quantidade produzida de soja, sendo distribuição homogênea em todo o estado. O arroz apresentou redução na quantidade produzida no norte do estado e uma concentração expressiva nas regiões sul e fronteira oeste do estado. Os bovinos mantiveram seu rebanho estável com grande concentração na fronteira oeste. A silvicultura apresentou crescimento em praticamente todo estado, estando sua produção centrada na região sudeste do estado. As lavouras analisadas contribuíram para o PIB do estado e são capazes, hoje e no futuro, de suprir as demandas calóricas do Rio Grande do Sul em caso de necessidades, caso sejam mantidas as características atuais do agronegócio gaúcho. Dessas culturas, a soja foi a que mais disponibilizou calorias e retorno financeiro ao estado, sendo capaz de suprir a demanda local e oferecer excedentes para a exportação. Em todas as culturas, com exceção do milho, o aumento da quantidade de calorias disponibilizadas esteve relacionado ao aumento da área plantada, demandando maiores investimentos e incentivos ao incremento do rendimento das culturas. / This study analyzed the food production dynamics in the state of Rio Grande do Sul and its consequences for the changes in the natural grassland areas in the Pampa Biome. To this end, data for land use in the municipalities of Pampa Biome were collected from the Agricultural Censuses of 1975, 1985, 1995/1996 and 2006 as well as the food production data presented at the municipal agricultural and livestock reports published by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). To analyze the dynamics of the natural grasslands area of natural pastures, the micro-regions were compared every 10 years, the relative growth rate. The comparison between the municipalities was made by the adjusted mean the area allocated for the categories of land use. All municipalities were ranked as the area of the categories in its territory and its location by Multidimensional Scaling Not Metric (NMDS). The influence of the biome on land use was analyzed by ENVIFIT and the difference between the categories by PERMANOVA in Pampa Biome R. In software, there was a 26% decrease in natural pastures since 1975, presenting decrease of up to 12.5% between 1975 and 1985. Noteworthy are the rates of crops and artificial forest in which to temporary crops showed considerable growth from 1985 to 2005. The influence of the Pampa biome in the composition of land use categories remained between 14 and 15%, with significant differences between municipalities in the Pampa biome in all the years analyzed. Over time, it observed a significant movement of temporary crops and artificial forests that mainly between 1995 and 2005 begin to integrate the biome landscape. To face the challenge of maintaining agro-ecological activities threatened biomes in Brazil should invest in surveillance, developing monitoring systems capable of detecting subtle changes in land use. Moreover, the production of food in this state showed an increase in the amount produced. High growth for soy produced, being homogeneously distributed across the state was observed. Rice declined on the amount produced in the northern state and a significant concentration in the south and west of the state border. Cattle kept its stable herd with great concentration on the western border. Forestry grew in almost every state, with its production centered in the southeastern region of the state. The crops analyzed contributed to the state's GDP and are able, today and in the future, to meet the caloric demands of Rio Grande do Sul in the event purposes, if the current features of the gaucho agribusiness are maintained. These crops, soybean was the one that provided calories and financial return to the state, being able to meet local demand and provide surplus for exports. In all crops, except corn, increasing the amount of calories available was related to the increased planted area, requiring greater investments and incentives to increase crop yields.

<p>Since the pre-industrial age, the Earth has been warming at unparalleled rates, and this warming is changing climate and weather, creating a more extreme global hydrological cycle. In this dissertation, I explore how these changes to the hydrological cycle may act ecosystem and community level responses of terrestrial plants in the Midwestern United States. In this region, it is projected that mean annual precipitation (MAP) will increase, but precipitation will become more variable across and within seasons. Ecosystem structure and function are vulnerable to changes in hydrologic patterns, including changes in biogeochemical cycles, plant productivity, and plant community structure and function. In this dissertation, I explore how changes in precipitation will alter these processes using two field experiments, and I suggest potential hypotheses that could explain drought-induced community change.</p><p><br></p><p>In chapter 1, I explore how alterations to seasonal precipitation in the winter and summer act ecosystem and community processes in a temperate deciduous forest. Biogeochemical processes and plant communities are sensitive to changes in abiotic conditions, and these conditions will alter forest succession, particularly juvenile woody plant species. Using a fully factorial experiment, I manipulated winter snowfall and summer precipitation to create wet, dry, and control (ambient conditions) treatments and investigated how changes in seasonal precipitation would act mineralization rates, woody plant recruitment, and understory composition. I found that the effects of winter and summer precipitation on these processes acted independently of one another in this system, and the system was resistant to changes in mineralization rates and understory composition. Woody plant recruitment may be more sensitive to altered precipitation, as recruitment of at least one of the four species planted, Lindera benzoin, was impacted by changes in seasonal precipitation. Snow removal treatments reduced germination and increased summer precipitation decreased the relative growth rate of this species. In the short term, slight changes to woody plant recruitment may have little impact on long-term forest succession, but as these changes persist over longer periods of time, they could alter the direction of succession, which could lead to changes in the understory community composition and nutrient cycling.</p> <p><br></p><p>The second and third chapters explore the effects that drought intensification will have on terrestrial plant communities. Numerous studies have investigated the effects of individual droughts on ecosystem and community responses, but the effects that both the timing and duration of drought have on these responses remain largely unknown. To explore this gap in the literature, I conducted a eld experiment using rainout shelters to reduce growing season precipitation, creating dry periods that varied in length and timing. Drought can impact productivity and diversity in this system, and the timing in which the drought occurs influences these effects. Surprisingly, I found that the length of drought did not affect productivity or community composition.</p> <p><br></p><p>The final chapter introduces the Community Response to Extreme Drought framework CRED), which addresses the potential temporal progression of mechanisms and plant-plant interactions that may lead to community changes during and after a drought. The mechanisms for the temporal evolution of community-level drought responses are not fully understood, but plant-plant interactions, both competitive (-) and facilitative (+), are increasingly being recognized as important drivers of community compositional changes. The CRED framework provides hypotheses for the roles that plant-plant interactions have on drought-induced community change. CRED addresses how system-specific variables and the intensity of drought may influence the strength of plant-plant interactions over time, and ultimately the systems resistance and resilience to drought. </p><p><br></p><p>The results from this dissertation work have revealed that more research needs to be done to fully understand how changes in precipitation regimes and patterns will affect terrestrial ecosystems and plant communities. A better understanding of how ecosystems and communities respond to drought timing and length can help improve climate models and restoration strategies.</p>

The processes that determine the structure of plant communities are of considerable practical and theoretical interest. Natural enemies such as herbivores, seed predators and pathogens provide one potentially important influence on plant diversity. I investigated the effects of natural enemies on plant diversity in two contrasting, species-rich plant communities (tropical forests in Panama and temperate grasslands in the UK), focusing on pre-dispersal seed predation by insects, and the mortality of seeds and seedlings caused by soil fungi. In Panama I found that pre-dispersal insect seed predators generate significant levels of mortality in multiple tropical tree species, with high heterogeneity in predation rates among individuals and at different forest sites. Insect seed predators were highly host-specific, consistent with a role in enhancing plant diversity. At Upper Seeds, a calcareous grassland site in the UK, I used manipulative experiments to show that soil fungi increase the diversity of plants propagating from soil seed banks. A parallel experiment in Panama, mimicking germination under light gap conditions, revealed differential effects of fungi among sites, with fungicide treatment appearing to increase the diversity of propagated seedlings at some sites but reducing it at others. These results suggest that the influence of soil fungi on pre-emergence mortality can alter plant diversity, even when post-emergence mortality from fungal pathogens is limited. In Panama, I also tested whether enemy-mediated mortality increases with rainfall, potentially contributing to the positive regional correlations widely observed between precipitation and plant diversity. In contrast to predictions, neither pre-dispersal insect seed predation nor the influence of soil fungi on seedling recruitment were affected significantly by site humidity, or (for soil fungi) with experimentally manipulated soil moisture levels. Overall, my results provide evidence that pre-dispersal seed predators and soil fungi can affect plant recruitment and diversity at early life stages, with potential consequences for the community structure of adult plants.

Cette étude propose une analyse intégrée de biomarqueurs moléculaires de sols, depuis leur site de production jusqu'à leur archivage sédimentaire lacustre. Un inventaire des lipides neutres est d'abord réalisé sur des sols d'usages contrastés : prairies/pâtures et forêts. Globalement, cette approche permet de distinguer (1) des composés linéaires ubiquistes, et (2) des composés (poly-)cycliques, généralement spécifiques. Parmi ces derniers figurent les acétates de triterpényle et les méthoxyserratènes, respectivement biomarqueurs d'Astéracées et de Pinacées. La persistance de l'empreinte moléculaire d'un ancien usage des sols est aussi démontrée. Ensuite, l'analyse multi-proxy d'une carotte sédimentaire couvrant les 6700 dernières années révèle l'impact prépondérant des activités humaines sur le fonctionnement hydrologique du lac, depuis l'époque gallo-romaine. Les assemblages moléculaires précédemment définis dans les sols sont globalement retrouvés, associés à un nouveau biomarqueur spécifique du chanvre, d'intérêt paléoenvironnemental. Une tentative de reconstitution des anciennes occupations des sols apparaît conforme aux données historiques et paléoenvironnementales antérieures. / This study proposes an integrated analysis of molecular biomarkers of landuse, from their genesis in soils to their archiving in the lacustrine sediment. An inventory of neutral lipids is realized on soils of two contrasted landuses: grassland/pasture and forest. This approach globally allows to distinguish (1) ubiquist linear compounds and (2) (poly-)cyclic compounds, generally specific. Among these ones, triterpenyl acetates and methoxyserratenes are detected and are respectively biomarkers of Asteraceae and Pinaceae. The persistence of a molecular imprint of an ancient landuse is also demonstrated. Then, the multi-proxy analysis of a sedimentary core, covering the last 6700 years, shows the prominent impact of human activities on the hydrologic functioning of the lake since the gallo-roman period. Molecular assemblages previously defined in soils are globally detected in sediments, associated with a new specific biomarker of hemp, of palaeoenvironmental interest. Hypotheses for the reconstitution of past landuses appear to be consistent with previous historical and palaeoenvironmental data.

Extensas áreas de campo do sudoeste do Rio Grande do Sul, no Bioma Pampa, ocorrem sobre solos arenosos suscetíveis ao processo de arenização. Nesses campos predominam condições de déficit hídrico, irradiação intensa, temperaturas extremas, baixa fertilidade do solo e uso pecuário. O estudo teve como objetivos, conhecer a diversidade florística dos campos com arenização; analisar os principais tipos de estratégias adaptativas apresentadas pelas espécies e as proporções em que essas adaptações ocorrem nas proximidades do areal, em um campo pastejado e em um campo excluído de pastejo; avaliar as mudanças nas proporções de área ocupada por solo exposto e por vegetação, considerando os fatores tempo (um ano) e cobertura vegetal (alta, intermediária e baixa). Áreas de campos nativos com arenização dos municípios de Alegrete, Manoel Viana e São Francisco de Assis foram percorridas para o levantamento florístico. O levantamento quantitativo foi realizado em três áreas de campos sob diferentes manejos (pastejo intenso, pastejo moderado e exclusão de pastejo) em novembro de 2007 e dezembro de 2008. Foram 36 unidades amostrais permanentes no campo excluído e 24 em cada campo pastejado. Para cada espécie amostrada foi registrada a cobertura absoluta, as estratégias adaptativas apresentadas e o respectivo hábito. Foram registradas 343 espécies pertencentes a 52 famílias, com duas novas citações para o Rio Grande do Sul: Eragrostis articulata e Eragrostis leucosticta e uma para o Brasil: Croton lorentzii. 89,5% do total das espécies apresentaram uma ou mais adaptações como resposta aos fatores de estresse. A presença de caracteres adaptativos no campo pastejado e no campo sem pastejo parece caracterizar as espécies dos campos de solos arenosos, cujas condições climáticas e edáficas são comuns. Os três campos diferem em composição e abundância das espécies. O campo com pastejo intermediário apresentou características de ambos os outros, indicando que há influência do pastejo na composição de espécies e na fisionomia dos campos. A dinâmica da vegetação nos campos pastejados foi influenciada tanto pelo tempo quanto pela cobertura vegetal. No campo excluído ocorreu variação na composição e abundância de espécies apenas conforme o gradiente de cobertura. O processo de arenização avança numa escala maior nas áreas pastejadas que no campo excluído, pois neste as áreas de maior cobertura vegetal tiveram menor influência do processo de arenização. Fatores como chuva e vento também contribuem para o aumento das áreas arenizadas ao longo do tempo, especialmente nos locais de menor cobertura vegetal. Para retardar o processo de arenização desses campos são sugeridas medidas como a retirada do gado das áreas atingidas e a utilização de materiais que impessam o deslocamento do solo, associadas à utilização de espécies nativas com potencial de resistência ao processo. / Extensive grassland areas in southwestern Rio grande do Sul, belonging to the Pampa Biome, are found in sandy soils that are susceptible to sandy patch process. In these grasslands, the prevailing conditions are water shortage, excessive irradiation, extreme temperatures, low fertility and cattle grazing. The objectives of this study were: to know the floristic diversity at grassland undergoing sandy patch process; to evaluate changes in exposed and plant-covered soil, considering time (one year) and vegetal cover (high, intermediary and low) as determining factors. Native grassland areas, located at Alegrete, Manoel Viana and São Francisco de Assis municipalities, were surveyed for the construction of a floristic list. The quantitative survey was carried out at three grassland areas under different managements (heavy-grazing, moderately-grazing and grazing-excluded) in November 2007 and December 2008, using 36 permanent sampling units at the excluded grassland area and 24 at each grazed grassland area. For each sampled species we registered absolute cover, adaptative strategies and habit. We registered 343 species, pertaining to 52 families, with two new citations for Rio Grande do Sul (Eragrostis articulata and Eragrostis leucosticte) and one for Brazil (Croton lorentzii). Among these species, 89.5% showed one or more adaptations as response to the stress-driving factors. The presence of adaptative characters at grazed grasslands and grazing-excluded grasslands seems to characterize sandy-soil grasslands species, since they share common climatic and edaphic conditions. The three grassland areas differ in species composition and abundance. The moderately-grazed area showed characteristics common to both other areas, indicating the influence of grazing on grassland formation physiognomy and species composition. Vegetation dynamics in grazed grasslands was influenced by time and vegetal cover. At the excluded grassland, variation in species composition and abundance occurred only according to the cover gradient. The sandy patch process advances faster in grazed areas than in grazing-excluded areas, due to higher soil cover values in the latter. Elements such as rain and wind also contribute to the enlargement of sandy patches over time, especially at sites presenting low soil cover values. In order to hamper the sandy patch process at these grasslands, we suggest measures such as cattle removal and use of soil-fixing equipments, associated to the use of native plant species that potentially resist the process.