| Abstract Detail
Systematics Ely, Francisca [1], Gonzalez, Jose Vicente [1]. Flowering cycle of Chusquea mollis L.G. Clark (Magnifoliae, Chusqueinae, Bambusae) in the Venezuelan Andes. Flowering cycles are unknown in most of the species of woody bamboos, since their frequency and duration differ greatly depending of the species, growth-form and distribution across latitude and altitude ranges. High elevation bamboos, including tropical Andean bamboos are known for combining gregarious (synchronic) and asynchronic flowering events, making it difficult to establish specific flowering patterns. The main objective of this study was to determine the flowering cycle and population structure of Chusquea mollis Swallen) L.G. Clark (= Neurolepis mollis Swallen), a monocarpic, native bamboo of high elevation humid ecosystems Venezuela and Colombia (2,650-3,400 m asl). According to field observations conducted since 2006 in the Venezuelan Andes, Chusquea mollis is not a conspicuous element of high elevation landscapes; on the contrary, it forms small, discontinuous populations associated to gaps and borders of the fragments of high elevation cloud forests (bosques parameros) that limit with the high altitude grasslands (páramos). The progressive clearing of these fragments to establish grazing pastures and harvest timber have lead us to believe that this species is currently endangered and should be included in future conservation projects in the region. For these reasons, it is important to study key ecological aspects of this species, such as reproductive phenology and population structure. The chronology of flowering events of C. mollis was determined for a period of 74 years, based on the revision of specimens deposited in national and regional herbaria of Venezuela (MERC, MER MERF PORT and VEN), online herbaria databases (MO available at TROPICOS, www.tropicos.org) and the flowering events recorded from 2006-2018 in two populations of the Cordillera de Mérida (Venezuela): Páramo La Aguada (08°35ʹ N, 71° 09ʹO, 2800-3320 m) and Páramo Las Coloradas (8°28´80,5¨N; 71°57´02,7¨O, 2700-2820 m). Population structure was based on census conducted during 2016 and 2018 in a single population located in the Páramo La Aguada. Our results suggest that C. mollis combines both gregarious and asynchronic flowering events, following a relatively short flowering cycle of 5-7 years. The census conducted in La Aguada revealed a very heterogeneous population, composed by plants in different stages of development: plantlets (4-10 cm tall, 3-6 leaves); juvenile plants (15-100 cm tall, 8-12 leaves) and adults (130-200 cm tall, with 20 or more leaves) in different stages: vegetative (pre-reproductive), fertile and post-reproductive (senescent). The juvenile plants accounted for 54% of the population, suggesting the occurrence of gregarious flowering events, combined with occasional asynchronous flowering.
1 - Universidad de Los Andes, Instituto Jardín Botánico de Mérida , Avenida Alberto Carnevali, Núcleo Pedro Rincón Gutiérrez La Hechicera, Facultad de Ciencias 3cer piso Laboratorio de Anat, Mérida, Mérida, 5101, Venezuela
2 - Universidad de Los Andes, Instituto Jardín Botánico de Mérida , Avenida Alberto Carnevali, Núcleo Pedro Rincón Gutiérrez La Hechicera, Facultad de Ciencias 3cer piso Laboratorio de Anat, Mérida, Mérida, 5101, Venezuela
Keywords:
Woody bamboos
flowering phenology
paramos.
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: SYS4, Systematics IV: Monocots part B to Rosids part A
Location: Virtual/Virtual
Date: Thursday, July 30th, 2020
Time: 12:30 PM
Number: SYS4001
Abstract ID:239
Candidate for Awards:None |
