Estrategias reproductivas de la vegetación y sus respuestas al pulso de la inundación en las zonas inundables de la Amazonía Central

Abstract

Piedade, M.T.F., Ferreira C.S., Franco, A.C. (2010).  Ecosistemas 19(1):52-66.

The wetlands associated with great rivers cover about 6% of the Brazilian Amazon, being considered the most extensive and, in terms of flora, the most diverse wetland forest of the world. These environments are subjected to extended periods of flooding, when the height of the water column may fluctuate throughout the year an average of up to 10 m. The predictability, the length of the flood pulse, the abrupt transition in the environmental conditions along the topographic gradient on the banks of major rivers in Central Amazonia and the powerful water  and  sediment  dynamics  impose  a  strong  selective  pressure  on  plant  populations  and  on  reproductive  systems.  In  this  study  we examine how the hydrological cycle influences the strategies of sexual and asexual reproduction that lead to the completion of the life cycle and the maintenance of plant populations. Possible constraints to seed germination, seedling establishment and formation of seed banks are also covered, as well as gaps in knowledge of reproductive strategies of the vegetation in floodplains of Central Amazonia. The emphasis is on herbaceous species because of the variety of life forms and reproductive strategies and their strong spatial and temporal dynamics in response to the hydrological cycle. The study of the vegetation of the Amazonian floodplains is even more relevant considering the expected impacts  on  the  populations  of  these  plant  communities,  if  the  climate  change  scenarios  predicted  for  the  Amazon  become  a  reality.  We conclude by proposing future research directions.