ALLOMETRY AND ARCHITECTURE OF Copaifera langsdorffii (Desf.) Kuntze (FABACEAE) IN NEOTROPICAL PHYSIOGNOMIES IN SOUTHEASTERN BRAZIL

This study examined allometric patterns and architectural features of Copaifera langsdorffii, in different physiognomies in a region of ecological tension. The forest, corridor, 'cerrado', and rocky cerrado physiognomies were studied in the districts of Lavras and Carrancas, south of Minas Gerais state, Brazil. The relationships between stem diameter, height, crown area, degrees of deflection and relative displacement were analyzed, as well as the degree of similarity between the physiognomies by means of regressions and covariance analysis. The principal component analysis (PCA) was performed with the collected biometric and calculated morphometric variables to characterize the most homogeneous groups which show the morphological plasticity of the species and their different strategies and resources investment. As a result of the regression and covariance analysis, two distinct patterns were found mainly between forest and 'cerrado' physiognomies from rocky cerrado and corridor physiognomies. It was found a pattern of growth through higher investment in height in the forest, aiming to guarantee space in the canopy, and a more connected to the horizontal growth of the crown, in the rocky 'cerrado' and corridor. The PCA showed a gradient of morphological plasticity for the species. The forest physiognomy presented higher values of total height, crown width and stem diameter, while the rocky 'cerrado' physiognomy presented higher degrees of deflection of the crown (asymmetry). The 'cerrado' and the corridor formed a transition between forest and rocky 'cerrado' for the gradient of morphological features of the studied species in these physiognomies.