02355naa a2200241 a 450000100080000000500110000800800410001910000180006024501230007826000090020130000160021052016570022665000120188365000160189565300280191165300140193965300180195365300180197170000200198970000210200970000190203077300640204920075642025-07-02       2014    bl uuuu     u00u1 u    #d1 aPASSOS, F. B.  aNurse plant effect of Solanum lycocarpum A. St.-Hil. in area of Brazilian Savanna undergoing a process of restoration.  c2014  ap. 251-259.  aThe use of nurse plants in ecological restoration aims to reactivate succession processes to improve envi- ronmental quality and biodiversity. This study targets Solanum lycocarpum as a nurse species to promote dif- ferent plant species beneath its crown by microenviron- mental changes in a disturbed area in Brazilian Savanna undergoing a process of restoration. The hypothesis is that S. lycocarpum modifies the microenvironment beneath its crown and influence in order to facilitate the density and richness of different plant species. Biotic parameter as density and species-rich biota, dispersal syndromes and habit were sampled. Additionally abiotic parameters were evaluated: litter thickness, light interception, penetration resistance, moisture, soil bulk density, saturated hydraulic conductivity of soil, nutrient content, acidity and soil structure. These parameters were evaluated in ten sampling units beneath S. lycocarpum, called the area of direct influence, ten around the nurse species crown, in the area of indirect influence and ten in open fields nearby without the influence of other trees, in the control area. For the biotic factors, density and species richness were higher beneath the crown of S. lycocarpum than in other treatments, mainly due to more litter accumulation, light interception, higher nutrient content (potassium, calcium and magne- sium), more moisture and lower penetration resistance. Results showed the importance of S. lycocarpum as a nurse species in a Brazilian Savanna area, because of their role in local microenvironmental changes to facilitate other plant species and promote succession processes.  aCerrado  aNucleação  aConservação ambiental  aDensidade  aMicroambiente  aRestauração1 aLOPES, C. de M.1 aAQUINO, F. de G.1 aRIBEIRO, J. F.  tBrazilian Journal of Botanygv. 37, n. 3, p. 251-259, 2014.