Alelopatia em Lepidaploa aurea (Asteraceae) como ferramenta de restauração ecológica : potencial para o controle de gramíneas exóticas invasoras no Cerrado

African grasses are responsible for a number of ecological problems for being invasive in several parts of the world, affecting especially open ecosystems such as grasslands and woodlands as it is the case in the Brazilian savanna, the Cerrado. In these areas, ecological restoration through direct sowing has been shown to be an effective practice in the control of exotic species in some areas of this Brazilian biome. The specie Lepidaploa aurea (Mart. Ex DC.) H. Rob. (Asteraceae) shows good performance in ecological restoration projects in the Cerrado and apparently inhibits the growth of the exotic grasses Andropogon gayanus and Urochloa decumbens, without, however, affecting the development of certain native species tree, indicating a possible allelopathic activity. The aim of this work was to identify the allelopathic potential of L. aurea on the exotic grasses A. gayanus and U. decumbens, on the native grass Loudetiopsis chrysothrix and on the natives tree Copaifera langsdorffii e Acacia polyphylla under controlled conditions, semi-natural and natural. Experiments were made: (i) in laboratory conditions with the use of water extracts of L. aurea (1.25, 2.5, 5 and 10% concentration) in Petri dishes, in sterilized soil (for evaluation of the effect of microbial) and natural (no sterilization) and vermiculite; (ii) in a greenhouse, with activated carbon and utilization of soil where L. aurea was previously grown and L. aurea’s litter and (iii) in the field, with use of activated charcoal and evaluation of germination and early growth the target plants in and out of patches dominated by L. aurea. We found allelopathic effects of L. aurea on all target species (model species, exotic and native) in the laboratory conditions. In the greenhouse, the contact with the allelochemicals of L. aurea reduced the initial growth of exotic species U. decumbens and increased the initial growth of native species C. langsdorffii and L. chrysothrix. In the field, the allelopathic effects were observed only in increasing the germination of the native tree C. langsdorffii. Allelopathy in L. aurea can be useful in ecological restoration projects for assisting in the control of U. decumbens and encourage better development of other native species.