Knowledge of the genetic variation of crop collections is essential for their efficient use in plant breeding programs. The Ethiopian Highland Maize Germplasm Collection Mission was launched throughout the highlands of Ethiopia in 1998 and 287 traditional maize accessions were collected from farmers’ fields. To date, no information was available on the morphological and genetic diversity in this important collection. Various molecular marker techniques and quantitative genetics approaches were applied to accurately unravel the extent of phenotypic and genetic diversity, to study patterns of morphological and molecular variation and to determine association of molecular markers with quantitative trait variation, with the view of designing a sound breeding program and management strategy for maize in the highlands of Ethiopia. The morphological study confirmed that traditional Ethiopian highland maize accessions contain large amounts of variation for agro-morphological traits. The broad trait diversity observed among the accessions suggested ample opportunities for the genetic improvement of the crop through selection directly from the accessions and/ or the development of inbred lines for a future hybrid program. Selection practices followed by local farmers are mostly consistent within agroecology and gave rise to morphologically distinct maize accessions in different agroecologies. This underscores the importance of considering farmers’ knowledge of diversity in the collection and evaluation of local accessions. The results of amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) and microsatellite or simple sequence repeat (SSR) marker analyses showed that bulking leaf samples from 15 individual plants per out-bred accession is an effective means of producing representative profiles of individual plants, thereby reducing the cost of DNA extraction and subsequent marker analysis of open-pollinated varieties. Cluster analyses based on AFLP and SSR data showed that most of the accessions collected from the Northern agroecology were genetically distinct from the Western and Southern accessions suggesting that differentiation for adaptive traits for drought conditions may have occurred in the Northern accessions. However, there was very little genetic differentiation between the Western and Southern accessions suggesting gene flow between the two agroecologies and recent introduction of similar improved varieties in these agroecoogies . In both marker systems, high mean genetic diversity was observed among the traditional Ethiopian highland maize accessions. This is possibly due to (i) the continuous introduction of maize from abroad by different organizations; (ii) genetic variation generated through farmers management practices; and (iii) the presence of different environmental conditions in the highlands of Ethiopia to which local landraces may have been adapted. The correlation between the morphological dissimilarity matrix and the matrices of genetic dissimilarity based on SSR and AFLP markers were 0.43 and 0.39, respectively (p = 0.001 in both cases). The correlation between SSR and AFLP dissimilarity matrices was 0.67 (p = 0.001). These significant correlations indicate that the three independent sets of data likely reflect the same pattern of genetic diversity, and validate the use of the data to calculate the different diversity statistics for Ethiopian highland maize accessions. From this study, three groups of maize accessions with distinctive genetic profiles and morphological traits were identified that will be useful for future collection, conservation and breeding programs of maize for the highlands of Ethiopia. A pilot association study using SSR markers and quantitative trait variation indicated that molecular markers could be useful to identify genetic factors controlling earliness, tallness, grain yield and associated traits, which could be exploited by various breeding schemes. The analytical tools outlined in this dissertation can be a useful tool in managing genetic variation of open-pollinated crops and will aid in the conservation of unique genetic diversity. Production stability and global food security are linked to the conservation and exploitation of worldwide genetic resources and this research attempts to add to that body of knowledge. Copyright 2005, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. Please cite as follows: Beyene, YA 2005, Genetic analysis of traditional Ethiopian Highland Maize (Zea Mays l.) using molecular markers and morphological traits : implication for breeding and conservation, PhD thesis, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd < http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-02212006-112610 / > / Thesis (PhD (Genetics))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Genetics / unrestricted

This paper shows the results of asurvey on use of traditional medicinal plants of K’ho people who living in the buffer zone of Chu Yang Sin National Park, Central Highlands, Vietnam. Total of 66 medicinal plant species belonging to 61 genera, 40 families were recorded through semi-structured interviews, group discussions and from guides of field trips who are knowledgeable about medicinal plants. These medicinal plants used by K’ho people are documented with latin name, family, local name, parts used and medicinal uses. In generally, fresh medicinal plants are mainly boiled or decocted for drinking and leaves are parts most commonly used. The results of this study showed that K’ho people still depend heavily on medicinal plants to treat diseases such as headache, fever, malaria, diarrhea, fractures, sprains and arthritis. / Bài báo này đề cập kết quả khảo sát cách sử dụng cây thuốc truyền thống của người K’ho sống ở vùng đệm Vườn quốc gia Chư Yang Sin, Việt Nam. Tổng số 66 loài cây thuốc thuộc 61 chi, 40 họ đã được ghi nhận thông qua quá trình phỏng vấn bán cấu trúc, thảo luận nhóm và từ những người dẫn đường đi thu mẫu có am hiểu về cây thuốc. Những cây thuốc truyền thống của dân tộc K’ho được tư liệu hóa gồm tên latin, tên phổ thông, bộ phận sử dụng và cộng dụng. Nhìn chung, dược liệu tươi được dùng đun hoặc sắc để uống là chủ yếu và lá là bộ phận được sử dụng phổ biến nhất. Kết quả nghiên cứu cho thấy cộng đồng K’ho vẫn phụ thuộc vào cây thuốc để chữa trị một số bệnh như đâu đầu, sốt, sốt rét, ỉa chảy, lị, gãy xương, bong gân và thấp khớp.

A self-educated shepherd, Scottish writer James Hogg (1770-1835) spoke from a position outside the dominant discourse, depicting issues of his age related to gender, class, and ethnicity by giving voice to people from the margins and, thus (either consciously or unconsciously), revealing gender politics and Britain's imperial aims. Hogg’s contemporary critics received his work rather negatively, viewing his subjects such as prostitution, out-of-wedlock-pregnancy, infanticide, and the violence of war as violating the principles of literary politeness. Hogg’s obstinacy in addressing these issues, however, supports the thesis that his aim was far more significant than challenging the expectations of his contemporary readers. This project shows that pragmatics can be applied productively to literature because its eclecticism offers the possibility of developing a detailed discussion about three aspects of literary communication—the author, the reader and the text—without prioritising any of them. Literature is an instance of language in use (the field of pragmatics) where an author creates the texts and a reader recreates the author’s message through the text. Analysis of Hogg’s flouting of Grice’s maxims for communication strategies and of his defying the principles of politeness enables a theoretically supported discussion about Hogg’s possible intentions, as well as about how his intentions were perceived by the literary establishment of his time; while both relevance theory and Bakhtin’s socio-linguistics enriched by a historically contextualised politeness shed new light on the negative reception of Hogg’s texts.

La mondialisation de la production de la quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.), initiée dans les années 80 dans l’Altiplano Sud de la Bolivie, a bouleversé le système agraire de cette région. Parmi les acteurs de la filière (producteurs, organisations professionnelles, importateurs) et ceux qui lui sont associés (gestionnaires, agents de développement, chercheurs), ces changements ont fait émerger des questionnements sur la durabilité de la production, principalement centrés sur une dégradation des sols dont la baisse des rendements agricoles serait l'indicateur le plus fiable. Cette perte de productivité des sols appellerait un changement urgent des pratiques agricoles au sein des communautés rurales, passant notamment par diverses innovations agro-techniques. Cette étude analyse les transformations agraires liées au passage d’une agriculture de subsistance à une agriculture d’exportation, ainsi que les facteurs de fonds qui expliquent les faibles rendements des parcelles. Plus largement, cette étude questionne les modes de gestion actuels des ressources du territoire. Elle s’appuie sur différentes approches (systèmes agraires, écologie politique et théorie de l'action collective) pour analyser ces transformations décrites à travers différentes échelles temporelles et spatiales, depuis le parcours individuel de vie jusqu'à l'histoire régionale des quarante dernières années. Différents outils (réalisation d’entretiens, observation participante, ateliers participatifs et jeux de rôles) ont été utilisés au sein de quatre communautés rurales représentatives et auprès d’acteurs régionaux et nationaux. Notre analyse révèle qu’il n’est pas scientifiquement prouvé que les faibles rendements soient la conséquence de la dégradation des sols. Cette explication néglige les interactions complexes qui existent entre facteurs environnementaux, techniques, sociaux et politiques. En effet ce travail démontre tout d’abord l'inadaptation de certaines pratiques actuelles de culture aux conditions agroécologiques des nouvelles zones de production ainsi que l’insuffisance des normes de certification biologique pour assurer la durabilité de la production. Il signale ensuite l’apparition de tensions liées aux nouvelles formes d’accès et d’usages des terres, dans un contexte où la gestion communautaire des activités agricoles et des ressources foncières s'est progressivement affaiblie, et où la pluriactivité et la mobilité restent des pratiques généralisées parmi les producteurs de quinoa. Il démontre enfin le manque d'articulation entre les actions de recherche et de développement et ce nouveau contexte. La dégradation des sols est un discours agro-technique diffusé par certains acteurs de la filière. Ce discours occulte des enjeux cruciaux liés à la gestion de l’espace et des ressources agricoles. La construction d’accords collectifs pour reconstruire de liens durables entre les communautés et leur environnement doit s’inscrire dans une vision plus large du territoire qui prenne en compte les processus sociaux, institutionnels et politiques. / The globalization of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) production began in the 1980s in the Southern Highlands of Bolivia. It has generated transformations in the agrarian system of the region questioning the production sustainability. The low quinoa yields experienced by quinoa producers within indigenous communities is a major issue for the different actors of the production chain, scientists, development institutions and policy makers. Today, they mainly attribute it to soil degradation. Consensus that changes in current field-level practices are needed has led to a search for agro-technical innovations. This study analyses the transition from subsistence agriculture to an export-oriented production system, underlying factors that could explain low yields and territorial resource management issues. We use various theoretical frameworks (farming systems, political ecology and collective action) to characterize the changes that occurred at different temporal and spatial scales, from actual producers’ individual life courses to the history of this region for the last forty years. Interviews, participatory observation, workshops and role-playing games were conducted in four rural communities. Results show that explaining low yields by soil degradation has no sound scientific basis. Moreover, this explanation does not take into account the complex interactions that exist between environmental, technical, social and political factors. In fact, this study first shows that actual farming practices are not adapted to the agro-ecological conditions of the new production areas, and that the organic certification norms are not sufficient to ensure the production sustainability. It also stresses the emergence of social tensions related to the new rules of land access and land use, which emerge in a context of weakening of the community’s authorities, of high spatial mobility and of the diversification of activities among the farmers. It finally reveals a disconnection between research and development activities and this new context. Soil degradation is an agro-technical discourse disseminated among market chain actors which hides crucial problems. Rebuilding a sustainable relationship between communities and their environment require collective agreements for land and agricultural resource management, and a broader vision that takes into account social, institutional and political processes. / La globalización de la producción de quinua (Chenopodium quinoa) iniciada a partir de los años 80 en el Altiplano Sur de Bolivia, se constituyó en un vector de cambios que generó profundas transformaciones en el sistema agrario de esta región. Estas transformaciones hicieron emerger, entre los actores involucrados en la cadena productiva y quienes se relacionan con ella (científicos, instituciones de desarrollo, tomadores de decisiones), una generalizada preocupación sobre la sostenibilidad de la producción. Dichas inquietudes, centradas principalmente sobre los bajos rendimientos obtenidos por los agricultores, se le han atribuido a la degradación de los suelos, alertando sobre la urgente necesidad de que se modifiquen las prácticas agrícolas mediante diversas innovaciones agrotécnicas. Frente a esta problemática, este estudio analizó las transformaciones agrarias surgidas de la transición de una agricultura de subsistencia a una agricultura de exportación así como los factores de fondo que explican los bajos rendimientos obtenidos por los agricultores. El estudio se apoya sobre diferentes enfoques teóricos (sistemas agrarios, ecología política y teoría de acción colectiva) para analizar las transformaciones descritas a través de diferentes escalas temporal y espacial, desde las trayectorias de vida de algunos agricultores hasta la historia regional de los últimos cuarenta años. Igualmente, se aplicaron diferentes herramientas (entrevistas, observación participante, talleres participativos y juego de roles) en cuatro comunidades representativas y ante actores institucionales en las escalas regional y nacional. Nuestro análisis revela que atribuirle a la degradación de los suelos la baja productividad de los cultivos no posee ningún fundamento científico serio. Esta explicación no toma en consideración las complejas interacciones que se presentan entre los factores ambientales, técnicos, sociales y políticos del sistema. En efecto, este trabajo demuestra en primer lugar, la desadaptación de las prácticas actuales de cultivo a las condiciones agroecológicas de las nuevas zonas de producción así como la insuficiencia de las normas de certificación orgánica para asegurar la sostenibilidad de la producción. En segundo lugar, revela el surgimiento de tensiones sociales vinculadas a las nuevas reglas de acceso y uso de la tierra, en un contexto en el que se presenta un debilitamiento de la gestión comunal en la gestión de los recursos y en el que la movilidad espacial y la pluriactividad caracterizan a la población cultivadora de quinua. Finalmente, demuestra la falta de articulación entre las acciones de investigación y desarrollo y el contexto actual. La degradación de los suelos es un discurso agrotécnico difundido por algunos actores de la cadena productiva. Este discurso oculta los problemas vinculados a la gestión individual y colectiva de los recursos territoriales, profundamente transformados por el auge de la quinua. La construcción de acuerdos colectivos para reconstruir una relación sostenible entre las comunidades y su ambiente debe abordarse desde una visión territorial que toma en cuenta los procesos sociales, institucionales y políticos.

How do indigenous people perceive and practice eco-agriculture, especially when it was introduced as a development project? This thesis aims to delve into this question by focusing on a policy-induced agrarian transition for Pumi community in Sino-Myanmar borderlands. Using ethnographic methods, I intend to offer an intimate account of a provincial programme to facilitate eco-agriculture in this ethnic region. With the conceptual framework presented, the current research starts with the introduction of Pumi agricultural history and indigenous farming knowledge, with a focus on Pumi biocultural heritage. Then, I will examine how the process of ‘indigenisation of modernity’ (Sahlins 2000) has occurred against the backdrop of Pumi eco-agriculture programme. The insights will be distilled from three different aspects, which are agricultural land use, technical practices, and governance issues. For each aspect, I will scrutinise to what degree the government is following an industrial model to design the eco-agriculture agenda which corresponds to the ‘conventionalisation hypothesis’ of organic production (Buck 1997) and is thus in alignment with their long-term strategic goals to ‘modernise’ this borderland region through agricultural transformations, whereas the local Pumi farmers are actively coping with the government’s external interventions, meanwhile searching for the ‘alternative pathway’ towards agricultural modernisation. In the final chapter, I will interpret the motives of the both actors in the programme. For the government, the post-development theory will be employed to provide a critique of the ‘development discourse’ embedded in the agenda. For local farmers, the concept of ‘environmentality’ (Agrawal 2005) will be focused to interpret the Pumi farmers’ motives to indigenise, which ultimately questioning the transforming powers of modernity and globalisation on Pumi agrarian society. Basically, this thesis aims to trace the socio-political processes which drive the ‘agrarian transition’ in a Southeast Asian frontier, and further demonstrate how the resource abundance in the borderlands can underpin intense processes of commodification and dispossession (Nevins and Peluso 2008; Ishikawa 2010; see also Milne and Mahanty, 2015), the implications of which crystallised in an ethnographic context. To a larger extent, this research aims to shed lights on the interactions between social structure and individual agency ― although the Pumi farmers are struggling to survive with the adaptation to modern inputs, they are still marginalised by the structured inequality of the market economy, which limited the farmers’ opportunities to improve their own livelihoods. Furthermore, this research also has significant policy implications as it addresses the issues such as agricultural policy and ethnic relations in the borderland regions. By reflecting upon the overlapping implications of highland livelihoods, agencies, and the transforming powers of social change, the current study aims to build a locally rooted understanding of Pumi eco-agriculture programme, and provide lessons for sustainable planning and future policy-making for rural development in developing countries such as China.

Thesis advisor: John Michalczyk / Why do we eat the foods that we do? This question is one that is not often considered by individuals as they go about their daily lives, but can have large implications on public health – for, there is a strong, physiological connection between food consumption and one’s health and wellbeing. Accordingly, when reflecting upon the health of a nation it is often important to consider its nutritional status. Ultimately, many determinants can contribute to how and why an individual eats certain foods, as can be seen in Ecuador. In this Latin American country, for instance, historical, socioeconomic, cultural, behavioral, socioeconomic, and environmental factors (among others) can be seen to influence the different diets – and by extension, the nutritional statuses – of different ethnic, regional, and geographic populations. Though common across Ecuador, discrepancies among these groups are particularly noticeable in the highland region, the Sierra. Overall, this paper examines the different forms of malnutrition, their implications on one’s health, and their prevalence across Ecuador. Additionally, it considers how the Ecuadorian diet was shaped, and how different subcuisines lend themselves to varying forms of malnutrition. Specifically, this paper focuses on the Sierra, given that levels of malnutrition are noticeably higher in this region, and that this highland area is home to large rural and indigenous communities who are most significantly impacted by the region’s nutritional conditions. / Thesis (BS) — Boston College, 2017. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Arts and Sciences Honors Program. / Discipline: .

Enquanto em regiões temperadas o conhecimento sobre a relação solo-vegetação é consolidado, nos trópicos e subtrópicos é preliminar. É urgente a necessidade de se determinar os fatores abióticos que controlam padrões vegetacionais visando dar suporte a estudos de recuperação e conservação. O presente estudo analisa a relação entre fatores abióticos e vegetação campestre na forma de três artigos científicos (capítulos I, II e III) e um artigo de revisão (capítulo IV). Nos primeiros três artigos, analisou-se a variância da vegetação em diferentes escalas ecológicas; e no artigo de revisão, discutiu-se de forma aplicada a variância de fatores bióticos e abióticos em resposta à degradação. Dessa forma, a presente tese objetivou responder as seguintes questões: (I) Que diferenças podem ser observadas dentro de uma mesma espécie quanto à funcionalidade e suas estratégias de alocação sob diferentes graus de disponibilidade de recursos?; (II) Quão variáveis são as propriedades físicas e químicas do solo em diferentes escalas espaciais; e existem propriedades dos solos que podem explicar com maior precisão a distribuição das espécies em diferentes escalas espaciais? (III) Que porcentagem de variância da vegetação pode ser explicada por propriedades pedológicas e climáticas; e quais características de solo e clima melhor explicam esses padrões de vegetação? No capítulo IV é apresentado um modelo conceitual sobre degradação dos campos e sua aplicação aos campos do Rio Grande do Sul (RS). Para responder as questões acima usei dados ao nível de espécie de campos calcáreos da Alemanha (capítulo I); dados ao nível de comunidade em seis áreas campestres do Rio Grande do Sul, sul do Brasil (capítulos II e III); e através da revisão de literatura relacionada à degradação, quanto à capacidade de recuperação dos campos do RS (capítulo IV). Os resultados evidenciaram que: (I) dentro de espécies ficaram evidentes duas estratégias frente à limitação de recursos, enquanto a resposta dos atributos aos diferentes tratamentos se mostrou constante; (II) a variação dos parâmetros do solo relaciona-se à escala espacial aplicada e a variância da vegetação geralmente responde a diferentes parâmetros de solo em diferentes escalas; (III) 45% da variância da vegetação entre biomas nos campos do RS foi explicada por características pedológicas e climáticas, sendo em grande parte governada pela precipitação anual e a porcentagem de saturação por alumínio do solo; e (IV) o modelo conceitual apresenta variações ao longo de dois eixos (biótico e abiótico) e poderá servir de suporte a estudos de conservação e recuperação de campos tropicais e suptropicais, bem como facilitar a tomada de decisões quanto ao manejo e conservação. Como conclusão geral, verificou-se que a vegetação campestre responde a variações ambientais em diferentes escalas espaciais e pode adotar diferentes estratégias para sobrepor filtros ambientais e processos de degradação. O entendimento da relação entre a vegetação e o meio abiótico é de grande importância para tomada de decisões quanto ao emprego de formas alternativas de manejo e conservação. / Whereas in temperate regions the abiotic-biotic relationship is well-known, in the tropics and subtropics our understanding is still preliminary. There is an urgent need to determine abiotic factors that control vegetation patterns in order to give support to restoration and conservation approaches. The present thesis analyses the relationship between abiotic factors and grassland vegetation in three original research papers (chapters I, II and III) and a review paper (chapter IV). In the first three papers, vegetation variance in response to abiotic factors was analyzed at different ecological scales; and in the fourth, the variance in biotic and abiotic factors in response to degradation process was discussed with a more applied view. Thus in this thesis the aim is to answer the following questions: (I) Which differences can be found in functional plant traits and allocation strategies within species at different levels of water and nutrient availability?; (II) How variable are physical and chemical parameters in different spatial scales; and are there soil parameters that can more accurately explain plant distribution in different spatial scales? (III) How much of RS grassland vegetation variance can be explained by soil and climatic properties; and which climatic and soil properties better explain these vegetation patterns? In chapter IV a conceptual model of grassland degradation is presented and applied to Rio Grande do Sul (RS) grasslands. To address these questions I used species-level data in a calcareous grassland in Germany (chapter I); community-level data in six sites in RS, South Brazilian grasslands (chapter II and III); and a review of literature studies concerning RS grassland degradation and restorability (chapter IV). The results showed that: (I) at a intraspecific level, the study species showed two allocation strategies in relation to resource stress, while the responses of individual traits to the soil treatments were consistent across species; (II) soil parameters variation are related to the measurement scale applied and the vegetation variance often responds to different soil parameters at different scales; (III) climatic and soil properties explained 45% of vegetation variance between biomes in RS grasslands and the main factors controlling its variance are annual precipitation and percent aluminum saturation; and (IV) the conceptual model is displayed as biotic and abiotic changes along the axes and can serve as a general framework to study degradation and restorability of tropical and subtropical grasslands, and further it may facilitate decisions on alternative management and conservation. As a general conclusion, the grassland vegetation responds to changes in the environment in different scales and may use different strategies to overcome environmental selective forces and degradation process. The understanding of this relationship is of high importance to facilitate decisions on alternative management and conservation.

The interpretation of unreason in Gilles Deleuze‘s philosophy Deleuze argues that all philosophy must originate itself from violence. The violence in thought is evoken by problems, which aren‘t given but constituted in mind. The fundamental problem of thought is incapacity to think itself, the malaise of mind, stupidity or madness. The dogmatical image of thought takes the common form of an 'Everybody knows . . .' , and in the following way disassociates itself from the problem - it merely dislodges madness from discourse of reason. Deleuze shows that the problem of madness should be included into image of thought, if transforming it simultaneously. The work points out, how Deleuze solves this properly transcendental qestion: how is unreason possibile? The thinker offers three perspectives, three points of view to reflect this problem. It can be seen from a point from highland or platonical tradicion, from a point of surface or virtual philosophy which Deleuze founds in the works of stoics, Leibniz, Nietzsche and Lewis Carrol and from a point of depths into which plunges Artaud. To each of these modes of mind thereby can be diagnosed distinct disease: maniac depresion or paranoia to idealism, active form of schizophrenia- to virtual philosophy and passive form of schizophrenia – to the thinking of depths. The research shows up how eventualy this triad turns to strict disjunction between traditional image of thought and the thought which is able to think of madness, becomings... [to full text]

Enquanto em regiões temperadas o conhecimento sobre a relação solo-vegetação é consolidado, nos trópicos e subtrópicos é preliminar. É urgente a necessidade de se determinar os fatores abióticos que controlam padrões vegetacionais visando dar suporte a estudos de recuperação e conservação. O presente estudo analisa a relação entre fatores abióticos e vegetação campestre na forma de três artigos científicos (capítulos I, II e III) e um artigo de revisão (capítulo IV). Nos primeiros três artigos, analisou-se a variância da vegetação em diferentes escalas ecológicas; e no artigo de revisão, discutiu-se de forma aplicada a variância de fatores bióticos e abióticos em resposta à degradação. Dessa forma, a presente tese objetivou responder as seguintes questões: (I) Que diferenças podem ser observadas dentro de uma mesma espécie quanto à funcionalidade e suas estratégias de alocação sob diferentes graus de disponibilidade de recursos?; (II) Quão variáveis são as propriedades físicas e químicas do solo em diferentes escalas espaciais; e existem propriedades dos solos que podem explicar com maior precisão a distribuição das espécies em diferentes escalas espaciais? (III) Que porcentagem de variância da vegetação pode ser explicada por propriedades pedológicas e climáticas; e quais características de solo e clima melhor explicam esses padrões de vegetação? No capítulo IV é apresentado um modelo conceitual sobre degradação dos campos e sua aplicação aos campos do Rio Grande do Sul (RS). Para responder as questões acima usei dados ao nível de espécie de campos calcáreos da Alemanha (capítulo I); dados ao nível de comunidade em seis áreas campestres do Rio Grande do Sul, sul do Brasil (capítulos II e III); e através da revisão de literatura relacionada à degradação, quanto à capacidade de recuperação dos campos do RS (capítulo IV). Os resultados evidenciaram que: (I) dentro de espécies ficaram evidentes duas estratégias frente à limitação de recursos, enquanto a resposta dos atributos aos diferentes tratamentos se mostrou constante; (II) a variação dos parâmetros do solo relaciona-se à escala espacial aplicada e a variância da vegetação geralmente responde a diferentes parâmetros de solo em diferentes escalas; (III) 45% da variância da vegetação entre biomas nos campos do RS foi explicada por características pedológicas e climáticas, sendo em grande parte governada pela precipitação anual e a porcentagem de saturação por alumínio do solo; e (IV) o modelo conceitual apresenta variações ao longo de dois eixos (biótico e abiótico) e poderá servir de suporte a estudos de conservação e recuperação de campos tropicais e suptropicais, bem como facilitar a tomada de decisões quanto ao manejo e conservação. Como conclusão geral, verificou-se que a vegetação campestre responde a variações ambientais em diferentes escalas espaciais e pode adotar diferentes estratégias para sobrepor filtros ambientais e processos de degradação. O entendimento da relação entre a vegetação e o meio abiótico é de grande importância para tomada de decisões quanto ao emprego de formas alternativas de manejo e conservação. / Whereas in temperate regions the abiotic-biotic relationship is well-known, in the tropics and subtropics our understanding is still preliminary. There is an urgent need to determine abiotic factors that control vegetation patterns in order to give support to restoration and conservation approaches. The present thesis analyses the relationship between abiotic factors and grassland vegetation in three original research papers (chapters I, II and III) and a review paper (chapter IV). In the first three papers, vegetation variance in response to abiotic factors was analyzed at different ecological scales; and in the fourth, the variance in biotic and abiotic factors in response to degradation process was discussed with a more applied view. Thus in this thesis the aim is to answer the following questions: (I) Which differences can be found in functional plant traits and allocation strategies within species at different levels of water and nutrient availability?; (II) How variable are physical and chemical parameters in different spatial scales; and are there soil parameters that can more accurately explain plant distribution in different spatial scales? (III) How much of RS grassland vegetation variance can be explained by soil and climatic properties; and which climatic and soil properties better explain these vegetation patterns? In chapter IV a conceptual model of grassland degradation is presented and applied to Rio Grande do Sul (RS) grasslands. To address these questions I used species-level data in a calcareous grassland in Germany (chapter I); community-level data in six sites in RS, South Brazilian grasslands (chapter II and III); and a review of literature studies concerning RS grassland degradation and restorability (chapter IV). The results showed that: (I) at a intraspecific level, the study species showed two allocation strategies in relation to resource stress, while the responses of individual traits to the soil treatments were consistent across species; (II) soil parameters variation are related to the measurement scale applied and the vegetation variance often responds to different soil parameters at different scales; (III) climatic and soil properties explained 45% of vegetation variance between biomes in RS grasslands and the main factors controlling its variance are annual precipitation and percent aluminum saturation; and (IV) the conceptual model is displayed as biotic and abiotic changes along the axes and can serve as a general framework to study degradation and restorability of tropical and subtropical grasslands, and further it may facilitate decisions on alternative management and conservation. As a general conclusion, the grassland vegetation responds to changes in the environment in different scales and may use different strategies to overcome environmental selective forces and degradation process. The understanding of this relationship is of high importance to facilitate decisions on alternative management and conservation.

Enquanto em regiões temperadas o conhecimento sobre a relação solo-vegetação é consolidado, nos trópicos e subtrópicos é preliminar. É urgente a necessidade de se determinar os fatores abióticos que controlam padrões vegetacionais visando dar suporte a estudos de recuperação e conservação. O presente estudo analisa a relação entre fatores abióticos e vegetação campestre na forma de três artigos científicos (capítulos I, II e III) e um artigo de revisão (capítulo IV). Nos primeiros três artigos, analisou-se a variância da vegetação em diferentes escalas ecológicas; e no artigo de revisão, discutiu-se de forma aplicada a variância de fatores bióticos e abióticos em resposta à degradação. Dessa forma, a presente tese objetivou responder as seguintes questões: (I) Que diferenças podem ser observadas dentro de uma mesma espécie quanto à funcionalidade e suas estratégias de alocação sob diferentes graus de disponibilidade de recursos?; (II) Quão variáveis são as propriedades físicas e químicas do solo em diferentes escalas espaciais; e existem propriedades dos solos que podem explicar com maior precisão a distribuição das espécies em diferentes escalas espaciais? (III) Que porcentagem de variância da vegetação pode ser explicada por propriedades pedológicas e climáticas; e quais características de solo e clima melhor explicam esses padrões de vegetação? No capítulo IV é apresentado um modelo conceitual sobre degradação dos campos e sua aplicação aos campos do Rio Grande do Sul (RS). Para responder as questões acima usei dados ao nível de espécie de campos calcáreos da Alemanha (capítulo I); dados ao nível de comunidade em seis áreas campestres do Rio Grande do Sul, sul do Brasil (capítulos II e III); e através da revisão de literatura relacionada à degradação, quanto à capacidade de recuperação dos campos do RS (capítulo IV). Os resultados evidenciaram que: (I) dentro de espécies ficaram evidentes duas estratégias frente à limitação de recursos, enquanto a resposta dos atributos aos diferentes tratamentos se mostrou constante; (II) a variação dos parâmetros do solo relaciona-se à escala espacial aplicada e a variância da vegetação geralmente responde a diferentes parâmetros de solo em diferentes escalas; (III) 45% da variância da vegetação entre biomas nos campos do RS foi explicada por características pedológicas e climáticas, sendo em grande parte governada pela precipitação anual e a porcentagem de saturação por alumínio do solo; e (IV) o modelo conceitual apresenta variações ao longo de dois eixos (biótico e abiótico) e poderá servir de suporte a estudos de conservação e recuperação de campos tropicais e suptropicais, bem como facilitar a tomada de decisões quanto ao manejo e conservação. Como conclusão geral, verificou-se que a vegetação campestre responde a variações ambientais em diferentes escalas espaciais e pode adotar diferentes estratégias para sobrepor filtros ambientais e processos de degradação. O entendimento da relação entre a vegetação e o meio abiótico é de grande importância para tomada de decisões quanto ao emprego de formas alternativas de manejo e conservação. / Whereas in temperate regions the abiotic-biotic relationship is well-known, in the tropics and subtropics our understanding is still preliminary. There is an urgent need to determine abiotic factors that control vegetation patterns in order to give support to restoration and conservation approaches. The present thesis analyses the relationship between abiotic factors and grassland vegetation in three original research papers (chapters I, II and III) and a review paper (chapter IV). In the first three papers, vegetation variance in response to abiotic factors was analyzed at different ecological scales; and in the fourth, the variance in biotic and abiotic factors in response to degradation process was discussed with a more applied view. Thus in this thesis the aim is to answer the following questions: (I) Which differences can be found in functional plant traits and allocation strategies within species at different levels of water and nutrient availability?; (II) How variable are physical and chemical parameters in different spatial scales; and are there soil parameters that can more accurately explain plant distribution in different spatial scales? (III) How much of RS grassland vegetation variance can be explained by soil and climatic properties; and which climatic and soil properties better explain these vegetation patterns? In chapter IV a conceptual model of grassland degradation is presented and applied to Rio Grande do Sul (RS) grasslands. To address these questions I used species-level data in a calcareous grassland in Germany (chapter I); community-level data in six sites in RS, South Brazilian grasslands (chapter II and III); and a review of literature studies concerning RS grassland degradation and restorability (chapter IV). The results showed that: (I) at a intraspecific level, the study species showed two allocation strategies in relation to resource stress, while the responses of individual traits to the soil treatments were consistent across species; (II) soil parameters variation are related to the measurement scale applied and the vegetation variance often responds to different soil parameters at different scales; (III) climatic and soil properties explained 45% of vegetation variance between biomes in RS grasslands and the main factors controlling its variance are annual precipitation and percent aluminum saturation; and (IV) the conceptual model is displayed as biotic and abiotic changes along the axes and can serve as a general framework to study degradation and restorability of tropical and subtropical grasslands, and further it may facilitate decisions on alternative management and conservation. As a general conclusion, the grassland vegetation responds to changes in the environment in different scales and may use different strategies to overcome environmental selective forces and degradation process. The understanding of this relationship is of high importance to facilitate decisions on alternative management and conservation.