EFFECT OF TOPSOIL STOCKPILING ON THE VIABILITY OF SEED BANK IN FIELD PHYTOPHYSIOGNOMIES CAMPOS DE ALTITUDE

ABSTRACT The viability of propagules during topsoil stockpiling is a limiting factor in ecological restoration projects and little is known about the species distributed in the campos de altitude. This work was carried out to investigate the viability of propagules present in the topsoil under campos de altitude vegetation, stockpiled for up to 12 months after the stripping of areas to be mined. In the south of Minas Gerais, Brazil, between November 2011 and November 2012, four collections of the seed bank were carried out, considering three depths (0 to 10, 90 to 100, and 190 to 200 cm) of the plot of stockpiled topsoil. Using the multivariate analysis, it was verified that the depth factor does not statistically affect the abundance of emerged individuals, while the factor time of stockpiling negatively affects the viability of the seeds. Some species were affected by the stockpiling conditions, only emerging in some collections, while others (Achyrocline satureioides, Ageratum fastigiatum, Baccharis dracunculifolia, Borreria capitata, Echinolaena inflexa and Melinis minutiflora) had individuals emerged in all collection periods. This study points out the need for the return of the topsoil until the fourth month of stocking, under the risk of monodominance, with a prevalence of species more adapted to predominant conditions of campos de altitude.