VEGETATIVE PHENOLOGY IN CERRADO FOREST VEGETATION TYPES: A COMPARATIVE APPROACH

Abstract

The Cerrado vegetation types has the same macroclimate, but differs in the microclimatic and edaphic proprieties, which can result in contrasting phenologies among it. The vegetative phenology of five vegetation types such as woody savanna, deciduous and semideciduous forests, gallery forest, and riparian forest in Brazil Central plateau were accessed in this study. Leaf falls and leaf budding of 10 individuals of the 12 most abundant species were evaluated monthly in each vegetation type over one year. Circular statistics and the Rayleigh test were used to assess the phenology peaks. The average intensity rate of leaf fall and leaf budding were calculated for each vegetation type and chi-square test was used to analyse differences among them. Of the 53 species studies, 15 were deciduous, 17 semideciduous and 21 evergreens. All vegetation types demonstrated seasonality, reflecting the season macroclimate predominance. However, the peaks of phenophases were different between them throughout the year, which in turn reflects the effect of the microclimatic and edaphic proprieties. Our results indicated that within the same remnant a greater number of forests patches may increase phenological strategies. Thus, several vegetation types ensured resources for associated fauna and ecosystem services at different periods of the year.