One of the main limiting factors in the performance of agricultural and forest crops in tropical soils is the
toxic effect of Al
3+ in soils. However, some plant species present adaptive mechanisms that confer tolerance
to these conditions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the development of three tree species grown in
nutrient solution with different levels of Al
3+. Therefore, seedlings of
Acacia mangium
,
Mimosa artemisiana
and
Enterolobium contortisiliquum
were produced in nutrient solution with four concentrations of Al
3+
(control, 185, 370 and 555 μmol L
-1) during 95 days of cultivation. At the end of the experiment, the plants
were targeted and a fraction of the known roots was scanned to estimate root area and length. The stem,
leaves and remaining roots were dried in a forced air oven, being determined the biomass and N, P and K
in plant tissue. The species showed different patterns of growth due to the increase of the activity of Al
3+
in nutrient solution, and
Acacia mangium and
Enterolobium contortisiliquum were more tolerant to Al
3+,
demonstrating potential use in the recovery of degraded areas with acid soils. The N concentration in the
plant parts were not influenced by Al
3+, however the concentration of P increased in the roots of three species
with intermediate levels of Al
3+, resulting in reduction of P in shoots of
Acacia mangium and Mimosa
artemisiana. The concentration of K+ in
Acacia mangium was reduced only in the lower Al
3+, whereas for
Mimosa artemisiana was gradually reduced.
