High abundance of dioecious plants in a tropical coastal vegetation.
Am J Bot
; 92(9): 1513-9, 2005 Sep.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-21646169
ABSTRACT
We examined the frequency of hermaphroditic, monoecious, and dioecious species of angiosperms in restinga (sandy coastal plain) vegetation in SE Brazil. The study site was a vegetation mosaic comprising nine plant formations, ranging from open types to forest. Dioecy (14% of 566 species) was similar to other tropical vegetations and strongly associated with woodiness and entomophily. However, more interestingly, there was an exceptionally high percentage (35%) of dioecious species among the dominant woody plants. This pattern has not been previously reported, and we discuss the extent to which it is ecologically driven. We argue that the high abundance of dioecious plants in this resource-poor environment can be attributed to ecological traits related to long-distance dispersal, ecological vigor, and possibly, vegetative reproduction.
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1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2005
Tipo de documento:
Article