Anatomical traits related to leaf and branch hydraulic functioning on Amazonian savanna plants.

Amazonian savannas are isolated patches of open habitats found within the extensive matrix of Amazonian tropical forests. There remains limited evidence on how Amazonian plants from savannas differ in the traits related to drought resistance and water loss control. Previous studies have reported several xeromorphic characteristics of Amazonian savanna plants at the leaf and branch levels that are linked to soil, solar radiation, rainfall and seasonality.

Consequences of removal of exotic species (eucalyptus) on carbon and nitrogen cycles in the soil-plant system in a secondary tropical Atlantic forest in Brazil with a dual-isotope approach.

The impact of exotic species on heterogeneous native tropical forest requires the understanding on which temporal and spatial scales these processes take place. Functional tracers such as carbon (δC) and nitrogen (δN) isotopic composition in the soil-plant system might help track the alterations induced by the exotic species. Thus, we assess the effects from the removal of the exotic species eucalyptus () in an Atlantic forest Reserve, and eucalyptus removal on the alteration of the nutrient dynamics (carbon and nitrogen).

Data on leaf structural, physiological and nutritional characteristics of species co-occurring in restinga and semidecidual seasonal forest ecosystems.

This paper presents additional data on the leaf structural, physiological and nutritional characteristics of three species ( e ), co-occurring in restinga and semideciduous seasonal forest (forest). The data of the leaf structural, physiological and nutritional characteristics were obtained from the three species to identify possible adaptive strategies that could explain the co-occurrence of these species in the restinga and forest. In addition, this data can help identify key functional traits in the plant community of restinga and forests that can be employed in the reestablishment of ecological and edaphic processes in these ecosystems.

Plant chromium uptake and transport, physiological effects and recent advances in molecular investigations.

Increasingly, anthropogenic perturbations of the biosphere manifest in a broad array of global phenomena, causing widespread contamination of most ecosystems, with high dispersion rates of many contaminants throughout different environmental compartments, including metals. Chromium (Cr) contamination in particular, is, increasingly, posing a serious threat to the environment, emerging as a major health hazard to the biota. However, although the molecular and physiological mechanisms of plant responses to many heavy metals, especially lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd), have been focused upon in recent years, chromium has attracted significantly less attention.

Metal phytoremediation: General strategies, genetically modified plants and applications in metal nanoparticle contamination.

The accumulation of metals in different environmental compartments poses a risk to both the environment and biota health. In particular, the continuous increase of these elements in soil ecosystems is a major worldwide concern. Phytoremediation has been gaining more attention in this regard.