EVALUATION OF A SEED BANK CONTAINED IN THE LITTER OF A FOREST FRAGMENT ENVISAGING THE RECOVERY OF DEGRADED AREAS

Abstract

The seed bank of a forest represents the stock of no germinated seeds, but potentially capable to replace plants that eventually has been disappeared from de ecosystems. This study evaluated a seed bank in a forest fragment, aiming at recovering degraded areas. The study began with the collect of litter in a Fragment of Seasonal Semidecidual Forest, located in the Campus of the Federal University of Viçosa (UFV), in Viçosa count- Minas Gerais state-, Brazil. The litter was collected in 3 places inside the forest at a five different times: October and December, 2001; and February, April and June, 2002. The experiment was installed in the Forest Nursery of UFV, using DBC statistical design, with 3 treatments and 6 repetitions. The evaluation consisted in quantifying the number of plants that emerged of the litter. The composition of the seed bank of the fragment was dominated by herbaceous species; out of a total 2962 individuals, the arboreal species represented 23.09% and herbaceous species represented 76.91%, and the litter has a good potential in reclamation of degraded area but it depend of climatic and edafic conditions and a good management.