Substrates impact the germination and emergency of a Cerrado grass

Abstract

Large-scale seedlings production of non-tree species is an obstacle for the advance of ecological restoration of grasslands and savannas ecosystems worldwide. We tested different substrates to verify the germination and emergence of seeds of the species Aristida jubata (Arechav.) Herter - Poaceae. We collected seeds in a “campo sujo” site – a phytophysiognomy of the Cerrado biome in São Paulo state, Brazil. Four substrates were tested: sand; sand + vermiculite; vermiculite and clayey soil (collected in a rut) in a random blocks experimental design with four replicates of 25 seeds –100 seeds per treatment. The ANOVA variance test was used for statistical analyses followed by post hoc tests to compare treatments (Tukey test, p=0.05). We found significant substrates effect in vermiculite; sand + vermiculite, sand and clayey soil presented a tendency of lower germination rates.