Regeneração florestal associada a tamanhos de clareiras: implicações para o manejo florestal sustentável

Abstract

The conviction on the capacity of forest regeneration is one of the backbones of the sustainable forest management in a long term. The performance of the regenerative process, however, depends on the damage intensity of the logging activity, which can be reduced according to science-base interventions on suitable criteria to direct the good practices. In this sense, the aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of different sizes of logging gaps on forest regeneration. The study was carried out in eastern Amazonia (Paragominas, Pará state, Brazil). We evaluated and monitored links of the regenerative process (e. g., herbivores vertebrate, seed rain, climatic factors) and/or others direct attributes of the regeneration (e. g., plant density, species richness, growth, recruitment, mortality) in two study sites. At Rio Capim ranch, with recent logging, fifteen 1.3 year old logging gaps were selected in an area of 300 ha of reduced impact logged forest and monitored for fifteen months. These gaps comprised three size categories: five small gaps (30-100 m2), five medium gaps (500-800 m2) and five large gaps (> 1.500 m2). At Cauaxi ranch, with old logging activity, twelve 8.5 years old logging gap had the direct attributes of its regeneration evaluated. The size categories were as above, except the larger gaps were smaller (1,000-1,400 m2). Our prediction is that higher species richness will occur in places of intermediary disturbances, in this case, in medium gaps (sensu Connell, 1978). Overall, this hypothesis was not confirmed. In Rio Capim ranch (1.3 year post-logging), although the larger gaps presented the lowest plant richness, the medium gaps were not the richest in species. Larger gaps showed more divergences to closed forest (control), they had higher temperatures, higher density, higher plant height growth, and higher vine growth. In medium gaps, the vines and pioneers species had also higher growth than in closed forest. The small gaps were more similar to closed forest, only differing on its higher pioneer density and growth (except vine growth). Both the seed rain and the impact of the herbivores on regeneration were indifferent to gap sizes, but show dependence on punctual features, such as presence of feeding sources to fauna and to seed production. The old gaps of Cauaxi ranch showed no significant differences among sizes and closed forests. Comparatively, the old gaps had lower density and higher relative species richness than younger gaps. According to our results and their potential implications to forest regeneration, the main recommendation of this study is that large gaps must be avoided. The small and medium gaps congregate more fortunate attributes to the sustainability of the timber management.