Savannas : Exploration, Threats and Management Strategies

The opening chapter of Savannas: Exploration, Threats and Management Strategies aims to answer the following questions: To what extent are the relationships among the crown traits in trees of Cerrado vegetation mutually dependent? Are the crown traits among a continuum of functional groups of trees? How does the interdependence among these traits define the strategies for ambient resource utilization? Is it possible that comparable strategies in savannas exist worldwide? Next, the authors address the association between the distribution of a tree species across Cerrado physiognomies and their ability for changing morphological and physiological features under irradiance and water stresses during initial growth. The authors show how these alterations enable the Cerrado tree species to survive in the shade. In the concluding chapter, the natural regeneration of S. guianensis and I. sessilis in a Seasonal Semi-Deciduous Forest remnant in southwestern Minas Gerais state, Brazil was measured in 20 canopy gaps and 20 closed canopy areas. The portion between palisade and spongy parenchyma was analyzed in search of ecophysiological and morphological foliar differences related to the microenvironments represented by canopy gaps and closed canopy.