Wénita de Souza Justino

This study evaluated the reliability of functional data imputed in the classification of ecological strategies according to the CSR model (competitive, stress-tolerant, ruderal) in tree species of a riparian Atlantic Forest in Brazil. Empirical data collected in situ from 68 species were compared with data imputed using the Bayesian Hierarchical Probabilistic Matrix Factorization (BHPMF) technique, considering key functional attributes such as leaf area and specific leaf area. The results showed significant divergences between the classifications based on measured and imputed data, especially for the traits directly involved in the formulation of the CSR model. While imputation overestimated selection for stress tolerance, field data indicated a greater diversity of strategies, with a greater presence of competitive species. The discrepancies point to limitations in the exclusive use of imputed data in local assessments of functional diversity, highlighting the need to integrate empirical collections and improvements in imputation methods for applications in environmental management and restoration.

Understanding how plant functional traits reflect adaptations to different environmental contexts is crucial for predicting vegetation responses to selection pressures imposed by environmental filters. This study examines the functional strategies of woody plants in riparian forests along the Rio Doce, Brazil, particularly focusing on how these strategies vary between saplings and mature trees in response to soil condition, temperature and precipitation. Using Grime's CSR (Competitor, Stress‐tolerant, Ruderal) model, we analysed functional traits and their relationship with environmental parameters across 15 reference riparian sites spanning 473 km of the river. We found a large variation in species functional traits and ecological strategies in both strata, with significant inter‐site differences reflecting regional environmental gradients. Based on community weighted mean values, there were clear differences in ecological strategies displayed by the multiple riparian forests found along the Rio Doce watershed in both strata. Trait‐environment relationship analyses highlighted how trait syndromes shift with environmental gradients. In general, we found for both strata a clear association between climatic variables and species functional traits, with higher C‐selection and leaf size positively related to higher precipitation and lower temperature. On the other hand, edaphic characteristics related differently to species' functional dimensions in each stratum. Soil chemical quality was fundamental for the tree stratum, reflecting the access of deeper root systems to nutrients in lower soil horizons, while soil texture was the main filter for the juvenile stratum, as it directly regulates the availability of water and oxygen for its more superficial roots. By linking functional traits and ecological strategies to environmental factors, our findings indicate that restoration initiatives in the Doce River watershed should abandon the one‐size‐fits‐all approach. Instead, they require the implementation of multiple region‐specific reference ecosystems, according to different ecological strategies shaped by different climatic and edaphic filters along the river.

The use of reference ecosystem inventories to guide ecological restoration is essential for monitoring the success of environmental recovery. The aim of this study was to carry out a floristic and edaphic inventory in old growth riparian forest remnants from the upper River Doce watershed, to provide subsidies for restoration programmes. The study was carried out in the municipalities of Rio Casca, Sem-Peixe, and Santa Cruz do Escalvado. The most representative families in species richness were Fabaceae, Meliaceae, Sapindaceae, Bignoniaceae, and Salicaceae. Based on the chemical properties of the soils, there was considerable heterogeneity among plots, with soils ranging from acidic to neutral (pH 3.8–6.3), with variable contents of phosphorus (0.0–7.6 mg × dm-3), and aluminum saturation (0.0–66.5%), among other factors. The co-inertia analysis showed a highly significant connection of 51.5% (p < 0.001) between floristic and edaphic matrices in tree stratum, and 46.5% (p < 0.001) between floristic and edaphic matrices in the sapling stratum. The reference ecosystems presented here suggest that action plans aimed at recovering the riparian forest should consider the edaphic conditions and its relationship with the plant community on a regional scale, avoiding the extrapolation of observed pattern of taxon-environment relationships to other regions.

The Brazilian Atlantic Forest has suffered from historical degradation and this work assessed the vegetation structure and soil quality by examining 45 plots divided in three sites in reference ecosystems from Conselheiro Pena-MG, Brazil. We recorded 28 species from 14 families in the tree stratum and 26 species from 13 families in the sapling stratum. We found a clear edaphic-floristic gradient suggesting a strong association between some particular taxa to contrasting edaphic conditions. The tree Astronium urundeuva behaved as a monodominant species, with the highest importance value (IV) in both strata (62.0% in tree, and 31.5% in the sapling strata). In the tree stratum, this species was present in 97.8% of the plots (44 out of 45). This scenario is worrying because this species occurs in a monodominant form in the middle section of the Rio Doce watershed behaving as an invasive species, preventing the colonization of other native species.

The most important condition of ecological restoration is the identification of reference ecosystems, which function as a guide for assertive practice with which biological integrity and ecosystem structure and function can be compared. For restoration and conservation projects to be effective in the current scenario of biodiversity and ecosystem services decay worldwide, it is fundamental to understand the soil-plant interactions in each environment. In this study, we evaluated the structure and composition of the flora in 45 plots, equally distributed in three preserved areas (reference ecosystems) of Atlantic Forest in the upper Rio Doce watershed, Southeast Brazil. We also tested whether differences in species composition were influenced by edaphic factors, both in the adult tree and sapling strata. In both tree and sapling strata, Fabaceae was the species-richest family, followed by Myrtaceae, and Lauraceae. The Fabaceae family also showed the highest importance value for both strata. The soils of the riparian forests were highly heterogeneous among the studied sites. Co-inertia analyses indicated a clear edaphic-floristic gradient in both tree (RV = 0.467; p < 0.001) and sapling (RV = 0.478; p < 0.001) strata, with a connection of 46.7% and 47.8% between the edaphic and floristic matrices for trees and saplings, respectively. We identified the groups of tree and sapling strata species that were strongly associated with either nutritionally richer or poorer soils on each studied site. Understanding how ecological and life-history traits of plant species relate with edaphic factors is an important step to provide scientific-based knowledge to support policies for ecosystem recovery and restoration in the stretches of the Rio Doce watershed.