The temperature at 35 °C resulted in high mortality
of seedlings and dramatically affected the growth of the
surviving seedlings, reducing the parameters: NF, WT, WF
and WR (Table 1). High temperatures negatively affect
important physiological mechanisms such as photosynthesis,
photorespiration and transpiration, which are directly and
indirectly related to the carbon balance of plants (Machado et
al., 2002). It is likely that the constant temperature at 35 °C
occasions an intense stress, enhancing the transpiration and
photorespiration events, and reducing photosynthesis, which
disfavors seedling establishment and development.