The role of the geologic substrate on Tillandsia recurvata infestation
and the development of forest decaying on a semiarid oak forest
Abstract
The Geodiversity involves substrate characteristics such as degree of
fractured rock, fracture depth, soil depth, parental rock, soil texture,
etc., that affect the hidrology of substrates and subsequently the
availability of water for plants. Here we examined the importance of the
geological substrate, as a factor that triggers the incidence of forest
decline. We demonstrated that characteristics of the geological
substrate related to the limitation of water availability enhances
Tillandsia recurvata (Tire) infestation and eventually causes loss of
vigor in oak trees. Using electrical resistivity tomography (geophysical
methods) and stable isotope techniques (δ18O / δ16O), we showed that
substrates dominated by regolith and rocks imposed greater conditions of
drought to an oak forest stand than a substrate with a more granulated
material. Trees in this forest stand presented greater densities of
Tire, a plant considered as epiphyte. However, under the observed
conditions of high infestation, Tire apparently exhibited a change from
epiphytic to parasitic plant as it acquired water from oak. This study
identified that the structural composition of the substrate (i.e.
geodiversity) is a factor accelerating the processes of decay and likely
forest mortality related to the effects of drought and the infestation
by pests and diseases.