Short-term increase in clonal propagules following disturbance in a natural population of Eremanthus erythropappus

Habitat fragmentation and management of natural populations of tree species may interfere with their dynamics of reproduction. Eremanthus erythropappus is a native pioneer tree from Cerrado and Atlantic Forest as well as their transition zones, that usually reproduces by sexual means, that is producing seeds, but can also induce propagules through assexual propagation. Management of natural populations of E. erythropappus for their use in cosmetics and other industrial applications, however, threaten the species survival and may alter the reproduction patterns of the species. Here we used six microsatellite loci to investigate whether management of a natural stand increased clonality rates in comparison to an unmanaged area. Significant increase in clonality levels, as detected from multilocus genotypes, were observed in the managed stand, although some clonality was also detected in the unmanaged area. Through the interpretation of the richness index ( R ), managed regenerants showed higher levels of clonality ( R = 0.293), followed by managed adults ( R = 0.489). Significant aggregation was also detected, thus indicating that closer individuals in distance could also be identical genotypes. The association index revealed some extent of linkage disequilibrium generated by clonality. Hence, our data showed that clonality rates are significantly augmented when E. erythropappus is subjected to management. This may have further negative impact on the genetic diversity of natural populations of the species and for its long-term conservation in their environment of origin. Management practices should consider the extent of clonality such disturbance can induce in natural populations of the species.