Liming effects on growth of native woody species from Brazilian savannah

The liming effects on the growth of fifteen woody species from Cerrado regi on (the Brazilian savannah) were evaluated under glasshouse conditions. The species used belong to different ecologic groups, namely: pioneer, seconda ry and climax trees. The soil treatments consisted in the absence of liming (-LIM) and liming sufficient to reach soil pH 6.0 (+LIM). In general, the pioneer and secondary species presented higher responses in total dry matte r production (TDM) to soil liming, whereas the TDM of the climax species we re not affected by the soil treatments. Thus, the ranking of species in rel ation to soil acidity tolerance ranged from highly sensitive to highly tole rant. The pioneer and secondary species growing in limed soil (+LIM) showed higher calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and phosphorus (P) contents, and, at t he same time lower Ca, Mg utilization efficiency (CaUE and MgUE respectivel y), whereas the P utilization (PUE) was higher. In contrast, the Ca, Mg and P content in the climax species were only slightly affected by the soil li ming. In general the climax species were less efficient in the CaUE and MgU E than the pioneer and secondary species.