EFFECTS OF MINERAL FERTILIZATION ON SEED PRODUCTION, GERMINATION AND SEEDLING BIOMASS OF Dalbergia miscolobium Benth.

Even adapted to poor soil conditions, Cerrado plants may respond to higher nutrient availability and change their crop production. The aim of this study was to compare the fruit-production, fruit and seed mass, germination, seedlings length and biomass of Dalbergia miscolobium trees growing in fertilized and non-fertilized Cerrado sensu strict plots in Reserva Ecologica do IBGE, Distrito Federal, Brazil. Nutrient addition did not increase fruit-production, seed mass and seedling biomass of D. miscolobium. Fruit mass and seed germination were lower in fertilized plants; root length was higher in seedlings from fertilized seeds. Thus, plants adapted to the oligotrophic soils of Cerrado are less demanding in nutrients and have strategies such as retranslocation of mineral and organic elements of senescent organs that can meet the demand for nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium needed for reproductive activities.