(Re) conhecendo grupos funcionais na vegetação do semiárido brasileiro

Abstract

Functional classification of plants has been the most promising strategy in ecological studies to understand the structural and functional patterns of plant communities. Measurements of anatomical, morphological, physiological and phenological characteristics reveal the mechanisms of plant adjustment to existing filters. The Caatinga, dominant vegetation of the Brazilian semiarid region, presents a peculiar functional dynamic, given the climatic conditions, of soils and arrangement of the absolutely specific species, which configures a unique ecological context. Considering previous studies and also new approaches to this vegetation, we propose in this work the analysis of the essential traits and their possible interrelationships in woody species of the Caatinga, that reveal competences to overcome the hydric stress. We sought to identify different adaptive strategies of these species based on the traits that make up the axes of the LHS (leaf-height-seed) plant ecological strategy scheme, effectively tested on different types of vegetation, associated with wood density, considered a key trait to define plant strategies in seasonally dry vegetation.