SEED BANK AS INDICATOR OF RESTORATION IN MULTISTRATA AGROFORESTRY SYSTEMSIN SOUTHWESTERN OF MATO GROSSO DO SUL, BRAZIL

This studyaimed to evaluatethe composition of theseed bankas indicator ofrestorationin fourmodules of multistrataagroforestry systems, with differentages, andin a remaining native forestin the Municipality ofAmambai, southwestern regionof the state of Mato Grossodo Sul. Thesoilsampleswere takenin December 2012and consisted in15 samples of20cmx20cm, 5cm depth, randomly distributedin eachmodule of agroforestry systemandcontrol ( forest area), with disposal of the leaf litter, totaling 75samples. The sampleswere placedin a greenhouse, in plastic trays of 3L and groupedsideby side, by collection area. The monitoringwas made for180 days with daily irrigation. Most specieswereherbaceous( 73%), the trees representing14.2%. Among thetree species, three stand out: Trema micrantha (L.) Blume, Cecropia pachystachya Trecul, and Solanum paniculatum L. Inrelation to the densityof viable seedsin the soil, there was a predominanceof herbaceous speciesin all areas, and the values for these speciesshowed nodecreasein relation toincreasing age of the areas; however, the lowest valueswere foundin theforest area. The seed density of tree species increased according to the age of the areas, suggesting successional advancement of themultistrata agroforestry systems studied, similar to what occurs in forests in secondarysuccessional stage, demonstrating its ability to restore degraded areas.