Distribuição, exportação e ciclagem de nutrientes minerais em Cupiúva (Tapirira guianensis Aubl.), em um fragmento manejado de mata atlântica no município de Goiana - PE

Abstract

The Atlantic rainforest is one of the richest biomasses of the planet in terms of biodiversity, but has been compromised by considerable anthropogenic action. The present study investigated a managed fragment of the Atlantic rainforest in the city of Goiana, PE, Brazil, on the Megaó farmland, with the aim of evaluating the distribution and exportation of mineral nutrients in Tapirira guianensis Aulb. (cupiúva), a perennial, pioneering halophyte species belonging to the family Anacardiaceae. Analysis of the mineral nutrients in the vegetal biomass and litter was carried out at the Mineral Nutrition of Plant Laboratory (Chemistry Department) and the Soil Chemistry Laboratory (Agronomy Department); soil analysis was carried out at the Soil Physics and Soil Fertility Laboratories (Agronomy Department) of the Rural Federal University of Pernambuco. Macronutrient (N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S) and micronutrient (Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn) determinations were performed on the leaves, branches, bark and trunk. Pre-dried samples were submitted to nitro-perchloric digestion, with the exception of N, for which sulfuric digestion was performed. Colorimetry was used for the analytic determination of P, whereas turbidimetry was used for S; K was assessed using the flame photometric technique, and the Ca, Mg, Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn contents were determined by the atomic absorption spectrophotometric method. N concentration was determined by the Kjeldahl method. Results were submitted to variance analysis and the averages were compared through the Tukey test at 5 % probability. The concentration of nutrients in the Tapirira guianensis Aulb. biomass obeyed the following order: leaves>bark>branches>trunk. The distribution of macronutrients in the leaves, bark and branch were distributed in N>Ca>Mg>K>S>P, and in the trunk in N>Ca>S>P>Mg>K. Micronutrients followed the distribution sequence for all arboreal components: Fe>Zn>Mn. The leaves presented a greater accumulation of nutrients, despite their biomass being smaller than the remaining components. Leaf maintenance is therefore important in the management area, thereby ensuring the cycling of nutrients through litter and the adequate maintenance of the management area. The total of exported nutrients was 71 % at the time of the cutting of the tree when the trunk, bark and branches are removed from the site, which could compromise the sustainability of the site.