Colonização vegetal em áreas de sedimentação recente na várzea da Amazônia Central

Abstract

The Amazon floodplains are areas of high biodiversity presenting a variety of habitats, which range from permanently aquatic to almost terrestrial. Water currents and oscillations, and the erosion and deposition of sediments affect the habitat stability and strongly influence the structure of plant communities. Information on the presence, density and the floristic composition of seed banks is essential for identifying species richness and regeneration patterns in this ecosystem. The present study investigated the herbaceous and arboreal vegetation of a young island (Ilha Nova) subjected to sediment deposition in the várzea near the city of Manaus. Species richness and vegetation structure, seed banks, and soil texture were investigated over a two years period in order to better understand the processes of plant succession in this peculiar environment. Structure and biomass of the herbaceous and arboreal community was inventoried in 24 plots during the terrestrial period. To characterize the seed bank, substrate samples were collected at 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 m depth in each 12 points of the North of the island, where slope was comparatively high, and transported to the greenhouse of the INPA, Manaus. Germination of seeds present in these samples was monitored during a period of four months, and seedlings were quantified and determined in species and/or morpho-species. Total Importance Values (TIV) and the floristic similarity between vegetation plots and germinated plants were determined. The statistical analyses were performed using the computer programs Systat 12.0, 4.0, PCOrd and Comunidata. The vegetation of Ilha Nova is mainly composed of the pioneer trees Cecropia sp. and Salix martiana, and of the herbaceous species Echinochloa polystachya and Paspalum fasciculatum. The substrate is mainly composed of sand, which favors germination of species that tolerate high sedimentation rates. The tree species Cecropia sp., Alchornea castaneifolia, and Pseudobombax munguba concentrated on the eastern part of the island, which is characterized by fine-grained substrates, whereas S. martiana concentrated on the western part of the island, were substrate grain-sizes are relatively coarse. Conversely, the distribution of herbaceous species was not related to substrate texture. In the várzea, primary succession initiates with pioneer herbaceous plants, which are replaced by pioneer trees. In later successional stages, pioneer trees are replaced by secondary forest, and succession tends to reach the community climax. As the present inventory was poor in secondary tree species, the high abundance of herbaceous and pioneer tree species suggests that the Ilha Nova is still under development of primary successions. All investigated substrate depths contained viable seeds; however, floristic similarity between germinated plants and the island’s standing vegetation was less than 20%. The seed bank was dominated by Cyperaceae, whereas the island’s vegetation was dominated by Poaceae. Abundance and species richness showed no significant relation to substrate depth, and germination was highest in the first three weeks of the germination experiment. These results confirm the existence of seed banks in the várzea, with it seeds mostly being small and thus most probable to be dispersed by water and wind. Seeds remain viable even when buried by sediments of 1.5 m depth and over periods > 1 year, thus indicating a permanent seed bank.