FUNCTIONAL DIVERSITY OF TREE AND SHRUBY VEGETATION IN CERRADO AT DIFFERENT STAGES IN REGENERATION IN NORTHEAST BRAZIL

Abstract

We seek to answer: Will functional metrics have a greater relationship with species richness in the conserved area? Will we find higher values ​​of functional metrics in the conserved area? Will the average values ​​of functional traits be higher for conserved areas and similar between areas undergoing regeneration? Will the areas present differences in functional composition, with turnover being more preponderant for functional beta diversity? We selected two areas with different regeneration times (18 and 35 years) and one preserved area and implemented a 50x50 m plot. We collected functional traits from 24 tree-shrub species from which the following were measured: leaf thickness, dry and fresh leaf mass, leaf area, specific leaf area and wood density. Only functional richness and species richness were related to species richness. We verified a difference in divergence and functional dispersion between the areas undergoing regeneration, the conserved areas presented the highest average values ​​and the 35-year-old areas the lowest values. We evidenced a difference in the functional composition between the regenerating and conserved areas. The turnover value was 0.7101 and the nesting value was 0.150. The regeneration time and agricultural practice influence the functional composition, where we found that turnover is the most preponderant component for functional beta diversity.