João Paulo De Souza

• PhD
• Professor (Associate) at Federal University of Viçosa

The growing demand for lithium has led to an increased focus on understanding the impact of mining waste on ecosystems in the surrounding area. This study aimed to investigate the effect of con the growth and establishment of an invasive C 4 herbaceous species ( Melinis minutiflora ) and a native C 3 herbaceous species ( Stylosanthes capitata ) fro...

Phenotypic plasticity may allow plant species to cope with environmental variability that influences plant growth and may limit the distribution of a species. The present study investigated the morphophysiology and phenotypic plasticity responses due to light and water variability of young Dimorphandra exaltata plants, an endemic threatened tree fr...

Lithium (Li) exploitation promotes socioeconomic advances but may result in harmful environmental impacts. Thus, species selection for recovering environments degraded by Li mining is essential. We investigated the tolerance and early growth of four tree species to Li ore tailings (LOT), Enterolobium contortisiliquum and Handroanthus impetiginosus...

Context The Cerrado stricto sensu is a physiognomy under a seasonal climate of Cerrado vegetation, a Neotropical savanna, showing insignificant light restriction for adult tree species with branches above the herbaceous stratum. Aims We capture shoot and foliage production in 15 Cerrado tree species with distinct leaf phenology, following marked b...

In agriculture, spontaneous field border vegetation can engender several benefits, including mitigating soil erosion, increasing carbon retention, conserving pollinators, and promoting biological control. The extension of these benefits can, however, often depend on the context of location and time. As for biological control, field borders can prom...

The Cerrado, a Neotropical savanna, is the second largest vegetation domain in Brazilian territory and presents a gradient of physiognomies. Among the savanna formations, the cerrado stricto sensu stands out. The responses of woody species of the cerrado related to increased CO2 concentration ([CO2]), as predicted by global climate change, may diff...

Climate change is among the main threats to ecosystems, affecting biodiversity and ecosystem services. These changes are associated with increased atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration ([CO 2 ]). This study aimed to investigate how [CO 2 ] influences chlorophyll a fluorescence, vegetative growth, biomass production, and the number of root nodule...

The climatic seasonality affects markedly plant organs' development in the neotropical savannas. Essential understandings about bud structure and its development in deciduous, semi‐deciduous and evergreen trees are unknown in Cerrado vegetation, the largest neotropical savanna. We aimed to determine the bud development, structure and the relationsh...

Paspalum densum is a C4 tropical grass with a high potential for the rehabilitation of iron mining sites, but combined environmental factors can bring new and unexpected responses to this species. Here, we describe the effects of the iron solid particulate matter (SPMFe) deposition in P. densum under future scenarios of climate change with the incr...

The increase in atmospheric CO2 concentration ([CO2]) due to climate change may alter the composition of communities and the functioning of ecosystems. Owing to greater nitrogen use efficiency, leguminous plants present more effective responses to increasing [CO2] than non‐legumes. The objective of this study was to evaluate the morphophysiological...

The acquisition of resources and airspace of woody crown occur by way of axes supporting annexes. Regardless of age, size, or branching system (monopodial or sympodial), the woody crown shows branched leafy axes implementing an aerial network. We propose here to represent the woody crown through a network comprised of two components, the segments o...

O grupo PET Educação, fundado em 2010, abrange todos os cursos de Licenciatura da Universidade Federal de Viçosa – Campus Florestal, sendo estes nas áreas de Ciências Biológicas, Educação Física, Física, Matemática e Química, que proporciona maior diversidade ao grupo no desenvolvimento das atividades interdisciplinares. As principais atividades re...

Changes in atmospheric CO2 levels are accompanied by ecological interactions involving other environmental factors, such as drought, which can severely alter the water balance of plants, thereby influencing sap flow, gas exchange, and plant growth. The objective of this study was to evaluate the water use economy, leaf gas exchange, and growth of y...

Water availability is the main factor that explains current patterns of palm abundance. However, the interaction between water stress and increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations caused by climatic change and its effects on palm physiology remain poorly known. Macauba palm is a widespread Neotropical species commonly found in ecosystems subjected...

This study evaluated the photochemical responses of photosystem II and growth of Hymenaea stigonocarpa under CO2-enriched conditions with exposure to simulated herbivory events. After herbivory simulation in two distinct parts of the stem of plants (apex and base), chlorophyll a fluorescence, chlorophyll index, growth, extrafloral nectary density,...

Enterolobium contortisiliquum is a neotropical widespread species that occurs in native Atlantic Forest, Cerrado and Caatinga vegetation in Brazil. Outside Brazil, it occurs in Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay. The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of high carbon dioxide concentration [CO2] on leaf gas exchange, chlo...

The photosynthetic adjustments of macaw palm (Acrocomia aculeata) were evaluated in 30-day-old seedlings exposed to high and low light environments, and sudden transference from low to high light and comparisons were made with the hardening protocol used in nurseries. Furthermore, we evaluated the responses to long-term exposure (265 days) to high...

We evaluated photosynthetic performance, growth, and biomass partitioning in tree species Anadenanthera falcata and Stryphnodendron adstringens growing under full solar irradiance and in the shade equivalent to that found in understory of the Cerradão physiognomy. The study was conducted free of water stress by watering, in São Carlos, state of São...

The structure of the Cerrado may be explained by the competition between woody and herbaceous species. However, the rising CO2 concentration ([CO2]) predicted under current climatic change may modify the ecophysiological responses of woody and herbaceous species owing to functional traits of each group, which may in turn modify vegetation structure...

The Espinhaço Mountain Range in eastern Brazil hosts a megadiverse and endemic tropical flora. The main vegetation is the campo rupestre, which harbors several endemic plant species. In this study, we sought to compare photosynthetic and leaf nutrient-use strategies in widespread and endemic species that allow its adjustments to high light and impo...

Enterolobium contortisiliquum is a neotropical widespread species that occurs in native Atlantic Forest, Cerrado and Caatinga vegetation in Brazil. Outside Brazil, it occurs in Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay. The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of high carbon dioxide concentration [CO 2 ] on leaf gas exchange, ch...

A formação extracurricular durante a graduação é um fator de extrema importância para a ampliação das vivências do estudante durante a sua vida acadêmica. Alguns programas existentes na universidade, como o Programa de Educação Tutorial –PET, por exemplo, possibiltam ao aluno experiências com essa formação, que vai além do que é abordado nas discip...

We discuss evidence of effects of an accidental fire on shoot growth and leaf development in six cerrado tree species with distinct leaf phenologies. Buds of all six species were marked before shoot and leaf emergence in the dry season. After fire, leaf and shoot growth were monitored weekly and specific leaf area (SLA) was determined. Shoot order...

Enterolobium contortisiliquum occurs in native forests formations from southeast to northeast Brazil, and too in Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay. The objective of this study was to evaluate shading effects in the early growth of E. contortisiliquum plants. We measured leaf gas exchange, chlorophyll content index, biomass allocation and leaf develop...

The rise in atmospheric CO2 concentration ([CO2]) has been accompanied by changes in other environmental factors of global climate change, such as drought. Tracking the early growth of plants under changing conditions can determine their ecophysiological adjustments and the consequences for ecosystem functions. This study investigated long-term eco...

Studies about the influence of light on the germination and early development are important to cultivate physic nut in the field. The aim of this study was to evaluate the light effect on the seed germination of physic nuts from distinct geographical provenances and to examine the morphology of seedlings. The first germination bioassay was accompli...

Jatropha curcas (physic nut) is a plant with economic and pharmaceutical uses. Basic studies on the influence of environmental factors on the early development of J. curcas are important for improving farming techniques and increasing productivity. This study investigated the adjustments of J. curcas to the environmental factors of drought and ligh...

Este relato de experiência é resultado de uma atividade epidemiológica e de saúde ambiental desenvolvida pelo PET/EDUCAÇÃO da Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Campus Florestal-MG, com o título: "PET FEIRA-LIVRE". O projeto objetivou proporcionar a troca de saber científico e popular entre os alunos do programa PET/EDUCAÇÃO e a comunidade da cidade d...

Este artigo descreve os efeitos de incêndio na estrutura populacional de Casearia sylvestris Swartz (Salicaceae). Foram analisados a estrutura de diâmetro e altura e o padrão de distribuição espacial antes e após o fogo. Além disso, foi realizada a caracterização morfológica e anatômica do sistema subterrâneo para determinar a natureza e origem dos...

Pflanzenarten mit einer hohen Blattlebensdauer (LLS) haben gemeinhin eine geringe spezifische Blattfläche (SLA), sowie geringe Stickstoff- (N) und Phosphorkonzentrationen (P), während Arten mit geringer LLS hohe SLA-, N- und P-Werte aufweisen. Indessen tendiert die LLS dahin, bei Arten, die in nährstoffarmen Böden wachsen, länger zu sein, und desha...

The establishment of young woody plants is a critical stage in their life cycle, particularly when the plants are subjected to stresses. The objective of this study was to evaluate the establishment of Vochysia tucanorum growing in shade or under full solar irradiance under field conditions by means of leaf gas exchange, nutrient concentration, the...

A disponibilidade de água para as plantas é considerada o principal fator limitante para o estabelecimento e produção de espécies agrícolas comerciais. O estado hídrico das plantas (conteúdo relativo de água, potencial hídrico, condutância estomática e transpiração) varia amplamente tanto numa escala diária como estacional e o conhecimento dessas v...

Cerrado is the most diverse savanna in the world. Several woody species coexist presenting different phenological strategies, ranging from deciduous to evergreen. In general, deciduous species have the leaf life span reduced when compared with evergreen species. The leaf life span seems to be the best predictor of leaf morphological and physiologic...

Structural differences between cerrado species with different leaf phenologies are linked to crown architecture, leaf production, and biomass allocation to shoots and leaves. The present study characterized crown structures and the patterns of biomass allocation to leaves and shoots in two woody cerrado species with contrasting leaf phenologies and...

Leaf gas exchange and leaf water potential (Ψleaf) were measured seasonally on non-grafted and grafted Coffea arabica on Coffea canephora in the field to investigate whether grafting would be able to protect the carbon balance against the rise of in vapour pressure deficit (VPD) and air temperature (Tair) under future climate change. The net maximu...

Hardening of Coffea arabica saplings by watering cycles (WCs) might be a suitable practice to achieve higher tolerance to low leaf water potential (Ψleaf) before transplanting to the field. As a consequence, hardening could promote growth and biomass gain during the initial development of C. arabica in the field. Thus, the less interrupted initial...

Deciduous, semideciduous and evergreen leaf phenological groups of Cerrado trees were studied using a representative network composed of nodes and links to uncover the structural traits of the crown. A node denotes the origin of a branch, and a link represents the branch emerging from a lateral bud. The network representation usually resulted in a...

ABStrACt This study investigated the relationship among shoot inclination, irradiance and morphophysiological traits of basal (BL) and distal (DL) leaves in six cerrado trees with distinct leaf deciduousness. Deciduous species showed plagiotropic shoots (44º) and larger leaf area than semideciduous and evergreen species, which showed orthotropic sh...

The morphology and the biomass allocation in shoots and leaves were investigated in 15 cerrado tree species with distinct leaf phenology growing under natural conditions. Higher values of leaf/shoot ratio on mass base, individual leaf area, leaf area per shoot, leaf display index, and leaf number per shoot length were found in deciduous than in eve...

Growth and leaf nutrient content were compared in young potted plants of Copaifera langsdorffii in sunny and shaded areas without water stress. Besides, carbon assimilation and leaf water relations were evaluated by net photosynthesis, potential photochemical efficiency and leaf water potential during daily courses in dry and rainy periods under na...

Dry semideciduous and deciduous forests occur only on calcium-rich soils and occupy almost 20% of the 200million ha of the cerrado region of central Brazil. Other savanna physiognomies of woodlands and grasslands, and gallery forests generally occur on acid soils with low calcium levels. The literature on phytosociological aspects of such cerrado p...

The present study intended to determine the phytosociological characteristics of the tree elements on the lower strata and the canopy of a semideciduous seasonal forest. The trees (> 15 cm circumference at breast height) were sampled in 40 plots of 10m x 20m. The individuals in the lower strata (> 1m up to 15 cm of circumference in the base of the...

RESUMO: O objetivo deste estudo foi comparar as características fitossociológicas do estrato arbustivo/ arbóreo em áreas sob dossel fechado e de clareiras, em uma floresta estacional semidecidual situada no município de Araguari – MG. O estudo foi realizado em uma floresta estacional semidecidual urbana, Bosque John Kennedy na cidade de Araguari, M...