-In simple terms, a phytosociological survey is a group of ecological evaluation methods whose aim is to provide a comprehensive overview of both the composition and distribution of plant species in a given plant community. To understand the applicability of phytosociological surveys for weed science, as well as their validity, their ecological basis should be understood and the most suitable ones need to be chosen, because cultivated fields present a relatively distinct group of selecting factors when compared to natural plant communities. For weed science, the following sequence of steps is proposed as the most suitable: (1) overall infestation; (2) phytosociological tables/graphs; (3) intra-characterization by diversity; (4) inter-characterization and grouping by cluster analysis. A summary of methods is established in order to assist Weed Science researchers through their steps into the realm of phytosociology.Keywords: weed community; density; frequency; dominance; diversity; similarity.RESUMO -Levantamento fitossociológico, em termos simples, é um grupo de métodos de avaliação ecológica com o objetivo de fornecer uma visão compreensiva tanto da composição como da distribuição de espécies vegetais em uma certa comunidade. Para compreender a aplicabilidade desses levantamentos para a ciência das plantas daninhas, bem como sua validade, devem-se escolher os métodos mais adequados e com base ecológica, uma vez que áreas cultivadas apresentam um grupo relativamente distinto de fatores de seleção, em comparação com os ambientes naturais. Para estudos fitossociológicos de plantas daninhas, a seguinte sequência de passos é proposta como a mais adequada: (1) infestação geral; (2) tabelas ou gráficos fitossociológicos; (3) intracaracterização por diversidade; e (4) intercaracterização e agrupamento por similaridade. Um apanhado dos métodos é apresentado, visando apoiar pesquisadores e estudantes da área de Plantas Daninhas em seus passos no reino da fitossociologia.

ABSTRACT. Genetic variability at 11 microsatellite markers was analyzed in five naturalized/local Brazilian horse breeds or genetic groups. Blood samples were collected from 328 animals of the breeds Campeira (Santa Catarina State), Lavradeira (Roraima State), Pantaneira (Pantanal Mato-Grossense), Mangalarga Marchador (Minas Gerais State), as well as the genetic group Baixadeiro (Maranhão State), and the exotic breeds English Thoroughbred and Arab. We found significant genetic variability within evaluated microsatellite loci, with observed heterozygosis varying between 0.426 and 0.768 and polymorphism information content values of 0.751 to 0.914. All breeds showed high inbreeding coefficients and were not in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The smallest genetic distance was seen between the Pantaneira and Arab breeds. The principal component analyzes and Bayesian approach demonstrated that the exotic breeds have had a significant influence on the genetic formation of the local breeds, with introgression of English Throroughbred in Pantaneira and Lavradeira, as well as genetic proximity between the Arab, Pantaneira and Mangalarga Marchador populations. This study shows the need to conserve traits acquired by naturalized horse breeds over centuries of natural selection in Brazil due to the genetic uniqueness of each group, suggesting a reduced gene flow between them. These results reinforce the need to include these herds in animal genetic resource conservation programs to maximize the genetic variability and conserve useful allele combinations.

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-This study aimed to evaluate the level of infestation by weed species in a consolidated Jatropha plantation, as a function of the plant species grown in interrows. The experiment was installed in 2006 at the district of Itahum, city of Dourados, state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, made possible through a partnership between Embrapa Western Agriculture and Paraiso Farm. Treatments consisted of (1) Jatropha in monocrop, with no plant at the interrrows; or the following plants cultivaded at the interrows of Jatropha: (2) Stylosanthes spp.; (3) Brachiaria ruziziensis; (4) Brachiaria ruziziensis + Stylosanthess pp.; (5) Brachiaria humidicola; (6) Panicum maximum cv. massai; (7) Cajanus cajan cv. anão; (8) Crotalaria spectabilis; (9) Crop rotation system 1 -(maize second crop -Crambe abyssinica -soybeanpeanut); and (10) Crop rotation system 2 -(cowpea -radish -maize -cowpea) conducted for two years. Phytosociological characterization of weed species was accomplished in 2011 based on the Ecological Approach. Estimations of relative abundance, frequency, dominance and Importance Value Index were obtained. Areas were also characterized by the diversity coefficients of Simpson and modified Shannon-Weiner, and then grouped by cluster analysis. Areas with low soil coverage resulted in higher infestation levels; crop rotation in the interrows of Jatropha produced a significant reduction in weed infestation, but the lowest infestation levels were observed when grasses were grown intercropped with Jatropha. Lower diversity coefficients were associated with occurrence of the most troublesome weed species. In the first years after planting Jatropha, species of Brachiaria or a crop rotation involving species with high mulching ability and whose biomass exhibit a high C:N ratio, should be established in the interrows to avoid problems with weeds infestation.Keywords: Jatropha crop, infestation, phytosociology. Palavras-chave: pinhão-manso, infestação, fitossociologia. RESUMO: Objetivou-se com este estudo avaliar o nível de infestação por plantas daninhas em uma plantação consolidada de pinhão-manso em função da espécie cultivada nas entrelinhas da cultura. O experimento foi instalado em 2006 no distrito de Itahum, cidade de Dourados, Estado de Mato Grosso do Sul, tendo sido viabilizado por uma parceria entre a Fazenda Paraíso e a Embrapa Agropecuária Oeste. Os tratamentos consistiram do cultivo solteiro (1) ou das seguintes espécies cultivadas nas entrelinhas da cultura: (2) Stylosanthes spp.; (3) Brachiaria ruziziensis; (4)Brachiaria

-We aimed with this study to compare weed infestation in coffee under two different cropping managements: conventional coffee grown alone, or intercropped with banana plantation in a year-round basis (late spring, late summer, late fall and late winter). The experiment was installed in 2009 under field conditions at the Escola Municipal Rural Benedita Figueiró de Oliveira, in the city of Ivinhema in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Assessments of weed occurrence were made three years after employment, on both cropping systems, and density, frequency, dominance and the importance value for each plant species in each system and season were quantified. Plant diversity within each system was estimated by Simpson and Shannon-Weiner indexes. Similarity between cropping systems were also assessed by the binary asymmetric similarity coefficient of Jaccard. Absolute infestation and spontaneous species differed between the two cropping systems in all seasons. Overall species diversity is higher in the monocrop compared with the intercrop, and it is associated in this study with the higher incidence of troublesome species. Areas were similar in terms of weed composition only in the Fall. Shading provided by the banana trees shows to be an efficient culture management aiming to suppress weeds in agro-ecological planting systems.Keywords: weed occurrence, intercrops, phytosociology. RESUMO -Objetivou-se com este trabalho comparar a infestação de plantas daninhas em café sob dois manejos de cultivo diferentes: café convencional cultivado isoladamente (solteiro) e em consórcio com banana (final da primavera, fim do verão, outono e final do inverno). O experimento foi instalado em 2009, em condições de campo, na Escola Municipal Rural