PHENOLOGICAL BEHAVIOR OF THE INVASIVE SPECIES Ligustrum lucidum IN AN URBAN FOREST FRAGMENT IN CURITIBA, PARANA STATE, BRAZIL

Resumo

Understanding the causes of biological invasions by exotic species is very important for biodiversity conservation, for which knowledge of their phenology is of paramount importance. The aim of this study was to characterize the phenology of Ligustrum lucidum W.T.Ait., its relations with the weather, and understand how its phenological behavior can facilitate its capacity of invasion in an urban Araucaria Rainforest fragment in Curitiba, Brazil. The evaluated phenophases were: young, mature and old leaves; flower buds and anthesis; unripe, mature and old fruits. The phenophases were correlated with climatic variables of maximum, medium and minimum temperature and precipitation using the Spearman correlation. The vegetative phenophases were observed throughout the whole study period, flowering predominated from October to January, and fructification from February to September. The only significant correlation between phenophases and climatic variables was represented by the relation between temperatures and fruiting, with negative correlations above 0.8 (P <0.01). We concluded that rainfall did not influence the phenological behavior, and the temperature only influenced the ripening of fruits. Including flowering and fruiting, the species remained within at least one reproductive phenophase throughout the year. The prolonged period of fruiting can be an important advantage that facilitates the invasion of L. lucidum in the Araucaria Rainforest.