PHENOLOGY OF Poincianella pyramidalis (TUL.) L. P. QUEIROZ AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE TEMPORAL DISTRIBUTION OF RAINFALL IN THE BRAZILIAN SEMI-ARID REGION

Abstract

A remarkable feature of the Brazilian semi-arid region is its highly irregular distribution of rainfall in space and time, with two marked periods: the rainy season, with erratic precipitation, of highly variable intensity; and the dry season, the critical period of prolonged drought, when the plant species of the Caatinga (desert vegetation found in northeastern Brazil) express their most remarkable trait, the deciduousness. In such conditions, plant species have their dynamics of growth and development in accordance with rainfall events. Thus, the objective of this study was to characterize the phenophases of Poincianella pyramidalis and their relationship with the temporal distribution of rainfall, which takes place in the form of water pulses. For the phenological study, 32 trees were selected, identified and monitored fortnightly on Açude Farm, located in the municipality of Soledade, PB state, Brazil. To quantify the phenological events, Fournier’s percent index and the activity index were adopted, recording the presence and absence of the following phenophases: sprouting, appearance of flower buds, flowering (anthesis), fruiting and senescence, whose data were related to the water pulses and inter-pulses. It was found that the sprouting, flower-bud and flowering phenophases in Poincianella pyramidalis happen synchronously with the temporal distribution of rain pulses in its habitat. The intensity and duration of phenophases in the development of Poincianella pyramidalis depend upon the extent and frequency of the water pulses throughout the rainy season. Total leaf senescence in Poincianella pyramidalis occurs when the inter-pulses of rainfall intensify as the dry season progresses, characterizing deciduousness.