Seed functional ecology in Brazilian rock outcrop vegetation: an integrative synthesis.

Background And Aims: Rock outcrop vegetation is distributed worldwide and hosts a diverse and unique flora that evolved under harsh environmental conditions. Unfortunately, seed ecology in such ecosystems has received little attention, especially regarding seed traits, germination responses to abiotic factors and the potential role of phylogenetic relatedness on such features Here, we provide the first quantitative and phylogenetically-informed synthesis of the seed functional ecology of Brazilian rock outcrop vegetation, with a particular focus on quartzitic and ironstone campo rupestre.

Methods: Using a database of functional trait data, we calculated the phylogenetic signal of seven seed traits for 371 taxa and tested whether they varied among growth forms, geographic distribution, and microhabitats.

Rock n' Seeds: A database of seed functional traits and germination experiments from Brazilian rock outcrop vegetation.

Advancing functional ecology depends fundamentally on the availability of data on reproductive traits, including those from tropical plants, which have been historically underrepresented in global trait databases. Although some valuable databases have been created recently, they are mainly restricted to temperate areas and vegetative traits such as leaf and wood traits. Here, we present Rock n' Seeds, a database of seed functional traits and germination experiments from Brazilian rock outcrop vegetation, recognized as outstanding centers of diversity and endemism.

Fire promotes functional plant diversity and modifies soil carbon dynamics in tropical savanna.

Fire is an evolutionary environmental filter in tropical savanna ecosystems altering functional diversity and associated C pools in the biosphere and fluxes between the atmosphere and biosphere. Therefore, alterations in fire regimes (e.g.

Comment on "The global tree restoration potential".

Bastin 's estimate (Reports, 5 July 2019, p. 76) that tree planting for climate change mitigation could sequester 205 gigatonnes of carbon is approximately five times too large. Their analysis inflated soil organic carbon gains, failed to safeguard against warming from trees at high latitudes and elevations, and considered afforestation of savannas, grasslands, and shrublands to be restoration.

Resilience and restoration of tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and grassy woodlands.

Despite growing recognition of the conservation values of grassy biomes, our understanding of how to maintain and restore biodiverse tropical grasslands (including savannas and open-canopy grassy woodlands) remains limited. To incorporate grasslands into large-scale restoration efforts, we synthesised existing ecological knowledge of tropical grassland resilience and approaches to plant community restoration. Tropical grassland plant communities are resilient to, and often dependent on, the endogenous disturbances with which they evolved - frequent fires and native megafaunal herbivory.

Comparison of translocation methods to conserve metallophyte communities in the Southeastern D.R. Congo.

In southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, unique metallophyte communities supporting numerous endemic species occurred on the highly mineralized copper cobalt (Cu-Co) hills throughout the province. These hills are economically valuable mineral reserves; mining activities represent therefore a threat to the long-term persistence of these communities. Ex situ conservation program was set up by a mining company to rescue and conserve the diversity of Cu-Co communities until restoration activities are initiated.

Potential of copper-tolerant grasses to implement phytostabilisation strategies on polluted soils in South D. R. Congo : Poaceae candidates for phytostabilisation.

Phytostabilisation (i.e. using plants to immobilise contaminants) represents a well-known technology to hamper heavy metal spread across landscapes.