Seedling growth of climbing species from a southeast Brazilian tropical forest

Climbers are considered heliophytes. They are copious at the margins of forests and natural and man-made clearings. The objective of this paper was to study the initial growth of seedlings maintained under full sunlight and shaded conditions (under a vegetation canopy). The species studied were: Aristolochia galeata, Arrabidea triplinervia, Bidens brasiliensis, Canavalia parviflora, Chamissoa altissima, Cissus sicyoides, Dalechampia pentaphylla, Dicella bracteosa, Dioscorea sp., Gouania virgata, Mascagnia anisopetala, Mutisia coccinea, Oxypetalum molle, Pithecoctenium crucigerum, Rynchosia phaseoloides, Serjania multiflora and Solanum flaccidum. The initial growth of the seedlings was followed under two conditions: at the margin and under the canopy of a mesophyllous tropical forest (22° 4955S–47° 0633W). The climbers showed high rates of growth in sunlight when compared to those under canopy. Most of the species presented higher growth of the shoot than roots but in general no significative differences between root/shoot were found in both treatments. Bidens, Cissus, Mutisia and Pithecoctenium showed a very high mortality rate under canopy but, most of the studied species survived under deep shaded forest for approximately 100 days.