title: The length of the dry season may be associated with leaf scleromorphism in cerrado plants.
abstract: Despite limitations of low fertility and high acidity of the soils, the cerrado flora is the richest amongst savannas. Many cerrado woody species show sclerophyllous leaves, which might be related to the availability of water and nutrients in the soil. To better understand the function and structure of cerrado vegetation within its own variations, we compared two cerrado communities: one in its core region in central Brazil (Brasília, DF) and the other on its southern periphery (Itirapina, SP). We contrasted the length of the dry season, soil fertility rates, leaf concentrations of N, P, K, Ca and Mg and the specific leaf area (SLA) between these communities. The dry season was shorter on the periphery, where the soil was more fertile although more acidic. Plants from the periphery showed higher SLA and higher leaf concentrations of N, P, Ca and Mg. We propose that the higher SLA of plants from the periphery is related to the shorter dry season, which allows better conditions for nutrient uptake.
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Biológicas, Departamento de Botânica, Instituto de Biociências, UNESP, Rio Claro, SP, BR.
authors.forename: Marcelo C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Souza
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Botânica, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF, BR.
authors.forename: Augusto C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Franco
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF, BR.
authors.forename: Mundayatan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Haridasan
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biologia Aplicada à Agropecuária, Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias, UNESP, Jaboticabal, SP, BR.
authors.forename: Davi R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Rossatto
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF, BR.
authors.forename: Janaína F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: de Araújo
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Botânica, Instituto de Biociências, UNESP, Rio Claro, SP, BR.
authors.forename: Leonor P C
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Morellato
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Botânica, Instituto de Biociências, UNESP, Rio Claro, SP, BR.
authors.forename: Gustavo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Habermann
mesh_terms: D001938:Brazil; D002118:Calcium / Q000032:analysis; D008274:Magnesium / Q000032:analysis; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000032:analysis; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000032:analysis; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000737:chemistry*; D012621:Seasons; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D014197:Trees / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000737:chemistry / Q000145:classification
chemical_list: D012987:Soil; D010758:Phosphorus; D008274:Magnesium; D009584:Nitrogen; D002118:Calcium