Seasonal Variation of Chlorophyll and Carotenoids in Leaves of Hancornia speciosa in Three Central Areas of the Cerrado of the State of Tocantins, Brazil

This study aimed to evaluate the seasonal variation in concentrations of chlorophyll a, b, total chlorophyll and carotenoids in leaves of Hancornia speciosa, Gomes, during the periods of the year, relating them to the main phenological events, periods (rainy, dry and transitions) and populations evaluated. The survey was performed in three sites and the spatio-temporal analysis divided into four periods (rainy, rainy-drytransition, dry and dry-rainy transition), with 10 replicates (matrix plants). The data were collected in average intervals of 33 days from October 2014 to April 2017. The extraction and calculation of the chlorophyll and carotenoid contents of the leaves were expressed in mg/g DM, according to the equations of Arnon (1949) and Lichtenthaler (1987). There was a significant difference between the periods and sites analyzed for all pigments and their relationships. There was a greater amount of chlorophyll a than chlorophyll b; this difference was greater in the dry period. In the rainy period, we found a greater amount of total chlorophyll, carotenoids and total chlorophyll/carotenoid ratio. The behavior for the species follows that already observed for deciduous plants, closely related to water availability.