Epigeous termite mounds are frequently observed in pasture areas, but the processes regulating their population dynamics are poorly known. This study evaluated epigeous termite mounds in cultivated grasslands used as pastures, assessing their spatial distribution by means of geostatistics and evaluating their vitality. The study was conducted in the Cerrado biome in the municipality of Rio Brilhante, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. In two pasture areas (Pasture 1 and Pasture 2), epigeous mounds (nests) were georeferenced and analyzed for height, circumference and vitality (inhabited or not). The area occupied by the mounds was calculated and termite specimens were collected for taxonomic identification. The spatial distribution pattern of the mounds was analyzed with geostatistical procedures. In both pasture areas, all epigeous mounds were built by the same species, Cornitermes cumulans. The mean number of mounds per hectare was 68 in Pasture 1 and 127 in Pasture 2, representing 0.4 and 1 % of the entire area, respectively. A large majority of the mounds were active (vitality), 91 % in Pasture 1 and 84 % in Pasture 2. A “pure nugget effect” was observed in the semivariograms of height and nest circumference in both pastures reflecting randomized spatial distribution and confirming that the distribution of termite mounds in pastures had a non-standard distribution.

ISBN 978-85-7035-361-0

O abacateiro apresenta grande diversidade de tolerância a baixas temperaturas devido às suas regiões de origem. As raças mexicanas são mais tolerantes, as raças antilhanas são mais sensíveis e as guatemalenses têm comportamento intermediário. Neste trabalho o zoneamento de riscos climáticos fundamentou-se na severidade das geadas, por meio da análise de séries históricas de temperaturas mínimas em um ambiente de Sistema de Informação Geográfica. Foram identificadas quatro zonas distintas de risco, caracterizando geadas muito fortes e frequentes, onde não se recomenda o cultivo; geadas fortes, onde somente a cultivar Fuerte é recomendada; geadas moderadas, onde somente as cultivares Primavera e Margarida não são recomendadas, e uma zona de baixo risco, no norte e oeste do Paraná, onde todas as cultivares são indicadas. As diversidades de climas no Paraná e as exigências térmicas das cultivares possibilitam a colheita em grande parte do ano por meio da combinação de diferentes cultivares e regiões de plantio.

In the south-eastern region of Brazil there are millions of hectares of deforested, almost-treeless hillsides with sparse ground-cover of grasses of African origin. For the establishment of more productive pastures in these areas, silvopastoral systems (SPSs) have been recommended, and the objective of this study was to quantify the N fluxes in the soil/plant/animal systems as a means compare the sustainability of a SPS planted with legume trees (Acacia mangium and Mimosa artemisiana) and eucalyptus, compared to that of a grass-alone Brachiaria decumbens (BDH) pasture. The annual live weight gain of Zebu × Friesian heifers, assessed 5 years after pasture establishment, was significantly higher on the SPS than on the grass-alone pasture, at 205 and 177 kg head−1 year−1 respectively. The N deposited as animal excreta (38–49 kg ha−1 for BDH and SPS, respectively), especially urine, is considered to be much more susceptible to loss than N derived from decomposing plant litter, and was found to be much less than the N recycled though the grass litter (107 and 114 kg ha−1, respectively) in both systems. The extra N recycled in tree-leaf and grass litter increased this by 34 kg N ha−1 in the SPS and we conclude that this would contribute to sustain forage productivity. The added advantage of trees in the provision of shade for the animals and protection from soil erosion should further contribute to the long term sustainable productivity of this SPS.