ABSTRACT Soil water saturation requires different adaptative strategies by tree species that live under such conditions. We aimed to study the responses that ensure flooding tolerance by tree species and so provide support for recovery projects with degraded areas subject to flooding. We evaluated the ecophysiology of Cedrela fissilis under different water saturations, including anatomical traits, gas exchange parameters, antioxidant system analysis and growth. We subjected 100 day-old plants to three treatments: Control (FC) where the substrate was kept at field capacity; Flooded Roots (FR), where the substrate remained submerged but with no surface layer of water, and Flooded Stem (FS), with a water layer accumulation of around 3.0 cm over the substrate, flooding part of the stems. The plants were kept under such conditions for 90 days. Plants survived in all treatments due to a marked development of cortical intercellular spaces in flooded plants. However, photosynthesis and other gaseous exchange were limited under FR and FS treatments. In addition, the periderm thickness was reduce by flooding and there was an accumulation of starch grains in the parenchyma cells of the xylem, cortex and pith of the stem. There was also a significant lipid peroxidation on the leaves under FR and FS treatments. The superoxide dismutase activity was decreased, but the activities of the ascorbate perioxidases and catalase in the leaves were increased. We concluded that young Cedrela fissilis plants partially tolerate flooding since they developed ecophysiological changes in order to survive in this condition. Consequently, this species is a good candidate for the reforestation projects in environments where intermittent flooding occurs, such as riverside and riparian forests.

Este trabalho foi realizado com os objetivos de avaliar o crescimento das espécies e identificar o seu padrão de crescimento e discutir sobre a eficiência do método em relação ao processo de restauração vegetal. O levantamento dos dados foi realizado 32 meses após o plantio das mudas. Para a amostragem foi empregado o método de amostragem de área fixa com parcelas, sendo utilizadas cinco áreas amostrais, que foram selecionadas de modo a abranger toda a extensão reflorestada, contendo 200 indivíduos/área amostral. Foram realizadas, em todas as plantas amostradas do estrato arbóreo com altura superior a 1 m, medições de altura e de diâmetro. Os dados foram analisados como delineamento em blocos casualizados (DBC) e submetidos à análise de variância, seguida do teste de Scott & Knott a 5% de significância, utilizando-se o programa SISVAR. Por fim, concluiu-se que espécies pioneiras ou que apresentam ciclo de vida curto são consideradas ideais para a implantação na fase inicial do reflorestamento, devido ao seu rápido crescimento. Entretanto, devem ter seu manejo associado a espécies não pioneiras ou perenes.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the species growing, to identify their growth pattern and to discuss the method quality in relation to plant reforestation. The survey was conducted after 32 months of planting seedlings, through sampling of fixed area by using plots, in which five sampling areas, selected to cover the entire length reforested, containing 200 individuals/sample area was used. Height and diameter were measured in all sampled plants, with a height greater than 1 (one) meter. Data were analyzed as a randomized block lineation (RBL), subjected to analysis of variance followed by Scott & Knott test at 5% of significance level, using the program SISVAR. Finally, it was concluded that pioneer species or those that have a short life cycle are considered ideal for deployment in early of reforestation due to fast growth; however they should have their management associated with not pioneer species or perennials species.

Hyptis suaveolens (L.) Poit. é uma planta da família Lamiaceae, considerada uma espécie tipicamente invasora. Entretanto, é produtora de óleo essencial, ao qual várias atividades biológicas são atribuídas. Informações sobre o desenvolvimento reprodutivo nesta espécie seriam úteis à elucidação de mecanismos adaptativos relacionados à indução floral em espécies invasoras, e ao incremento na produção de óleo essencial, devido sua preponderância nas flores. Assim, aqui caracterizamos alguns aspectos do desenvolvimento reprodutivo em Hyptis suaveolens. Plantas de H. suaveolens foram submetidas a dois tratamentos fotoperiódicos (fotoperíodo natural de Alfenas e fotoperíodo mínimo de 16 h) para amostragem de ápices aéreos vegetativos e florais em cinco datas. Nestes materiais botânicos foram realizadas análises anatômicas, ensaios de hibridização in situ para detecção dos transcritos de um ortólogo putativo de LEAFY e microscopia eletrônica de varredura. Hyptis suaveolens é uma planta de dias curtos, com fotoperíodo crítico em torno de 13 h. A atividade meristemática vegetativa ou floral pôde ser evidenciada pela densidade celular. O ortólogo putativo de LEAFY em H. suaveolens exibiu o padrão de expressão clássico descrito em Antirrhinum e Arabidopsis, mas também foi expresso em ápices vegetativos de plantas cultivadas sob fotoperíodo natural, independente da época de amostragem. Entretanto, não foi expresso em meristemas vegetativos de plantas cultivadas em fotoperíodo mínimo de 16 h. Estes resultados sugerem uma expressão basal de LEAFY em meristemas vegetativos de H. suaveolens, que é fortemente reduzida sob fotoperíodo mínimo de 16 h ou incrementada em fotoperíodos inferiores a 13 h, atingindo níveis satisfatórios à determinação floral.

Hyptis suaveolens (L.) Poit. (Lamiaceae) is a typical invasive plant that produces an essential oil with several biological properties. The largest essential oil content is found at the flowers. So, advances in the current knowledge about the H. suaveolens reproductive development are important when the essential oil productivity is sought. Furthermore, the comprehension of the mechanisms involved in the H. suaveolens floral induction would be useful to clarify the adaptive responses in invasive plants. We here reported some H. suaveolens reproductive development features. The plants were grown at two photoperiodic treatments (natural photoperiod from Alfenas, Minas Gerais, Brazil and natural photoperiod extended of 16 h). Samples of floral and vegetative aerial apices were taken at five different periods of time, for anatomical and scanning electron microscopic analysis, as well as in situ hybridization experiments, in order to detect the transcripts of a putative ortholog of Arabidopsis thaliana LEAFY gene. Hyptis suaveolens is a short day plant, with critical photoperiod nearby 13 h. The cell density has increased according to higher vegetative or floral meristem activities. The putative ortholog of LEAFY in H. suaveolens has shown an expression pattern similar to that reported in Antirrhinum and Arabidopsis, although it was also expressed in vegetative apices at the natural photoperiod plants. Nevertheless, under extended natural photoperiod (16 h) no gene expression was detected in vegetative meristem. These results suggest a basal expression of LEAFY in H. suaveolens vegetative meristem, which is strongly decreased by extended day length conditions, or is increased under photoperiods lower than 13 h, when suitable levels are reached for floral determination.

This study was performed to establish the correlation between the growth conditions and essential oil composition of Hyptis suaveolens from Alfenas (MG), Brazil. The plants were grown in a greenhouse, four treatments were used and they were harvested at two different periods of time (60 and 135-day-old plants). The essential oil composition was determined by GC-MS analysis. The terpenes spathulenol, globulol, dehydroabietol, a-cadinol and beta-phellandrene were the major constituents found in the essential oil. Oxygenated sesquiterpenes represented the main group of constituents in most of the treatments. The major changes in the essential oil composition were found in 135-day-old plants grown under NPK deficiency. We also identified three groups of volatile components that have not been previously described in H suaveolens.