Banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO: PEDRO HENRIQUE ALBUQUERQUE SENA

Uma banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO de DOUTORADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : PEDRO HENRIQUE ALBUQUERQUE SENA
DATE: 21/07/2021
LOCAL: Videoconferência
TITLE:
KEY WORDS:

litter decomposition, BEF, phylogenetic signal, mixture effect, rainfall, Brazilian Caatinga

PAGES: 91
BIG AREA: Ciências Biológicas
AREA: Botânica
SUMMARY:

Plant functional traits and evolutionary history potentially drive ecosystem functioning. However, many experiments fail to incorporate both functional and phylogenetic diversity to explain leaf decomposition, especially when we consider exogenous drivers such as human-induced disturbance and precipitation. Here, we combined species with high and low levels of functional and phylogenetic diversity based on functional traits and species relatedness, comprising a full-factorial experiment. Then, we created diversity-decomposition experiment using litterbags to monitor leaf decomposition in gradients of chronic anthropogenic disturbance (tree extraction and livestock grazing) and precipitation in a seasonally tropical dry forest. Our results showed that higher functional diversity strongly increased leaf decomposition and these effects were mediated by both chronic disturbance and precipitation. Contrastingly, increased phylogenetic diversity determined antagonism on mixture effects, but such negative effects were not translated into overall decomposition process. Identity effects of monocultures were coordinated with functional strategies and strongly determined by disturbance, with smaller significant effects of precipitation. Our results indicate that species mixtures can overcome disturbance and precipitation effects only when plants with divergent functional traits are present. Furthermore, our experimental findings shed light into the importance of negative effects of chronic disturbance in social-ecological systems, especially those limited by water availability. Therefore, changes in plant functional diversity have disproportionate effects on ecosystem functioning than accounting for distant-related lineages, determining the potential role of biodiversity as a buffer to human-induced impacts and climate in dry ecosystems.

BANKING MEMBERS:
Externa à Instituição - MAÍRA DE CAMPOS GORGULHO PADGURSCHI - UNICAMP
Externo à Instituição - XAVIER ARNAN VIADIU - UPE
Presidente - 1835888 - FELIPE PIMENTEL LOPES DE MELO