Effect of the isolation of Sterculia apetala trees on the emergence of seedlings in Pantanal

Abstract

Sterculia apetala trees aren’t removed during the conversion of forests into pastures due to rural landowners’ awareness that these trees are home to 95% of the nests of Hyacinth Macaw in Pantanal. Our aim was to compare the greenhouse emergence rate of seedlings from seeds of trees at conserved forest and those left isolated in a cultivated pastures. The seeds were collected directly from the ground, under 10 S. apetala trees in each area, at the Pantanal Wetland, Corumba, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. The emergence of seedlings from isolated trees was 14% lower than that obtained from trees located in the inner part of the forest. There’s a need for further studies on the ecology of this species in Pantanal focused on the mating system, the identification of the pollination agent and the evaluation of the effects of isolation on the viability of species population, which may impact the Hyacinth Macaw reproduction success.

Keywords

• Cultivated pasture
• Deforestation in Pantanal
• Hyacinth macaw
• Nest tree