Nurse plant effect of Solanum lycocarpum A. St.-Hil. in area of Brazilian Savanna undergoing a process of restoration

The use of nurse plants in ecological restoration aims to reactivate succession processes to improve environmental quality and biodiversity. This study targets Solanum lycocarpum as a nurse species to promote different plant species beneath its crown by microenvironmental changes in a disturbed area in Brazilian Savanna undergoing a process of restoration. The hypothesis is that S. lycocarpum modifies the microenvironment beneath its crown and influence in order to facilitate the density and richness of different plant species. Biotic parameter as density and species-rich biota, dispersal syndromes and habit were sampled. Additionally abiotic parameters were evaluated: litter thickness, light interception, penetration resistance, moisture, soil bulk density, saturated hydraulic conductivity of soil, nutrient content, acidity and soil structure. These parameters were evaluated in ten sampling units beneath S. lycocarpum, called the area of direct influence, ten around the nurse species crown, in the area of indirect influence and ten in open fields nearby without the influence of other trees, in the control area. For the biotic factors, density and species richness were higher beneath the crown of S. lycocarpum than in other treatments, mainly due to more litter accumulation, light interception, higher nutrient content (potassium, calcium and magnesium), more moisture and lower penetration resistance. Results showed the importance of S. lycocarpum as a nurse species in a Brazilian Savanna area, because of their role in local microenvironmental changes to facilitate other plant species and promote succession processes.