How Forest Management with Clear-Cutting Affects the Regeneration, Diversity and Structure of a Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest in Brazil-Reference-Cited by-同舟云学术

How Forest Management with Clear-Cutting Affects the Regeneration, Diversity and Structure of a Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest in Brazil

Published:2023-09-13 Issue:9 Volume:14 Page:1870
ISSN:1999-4907
Container-title:Forests
language:en
Short-container-title:Forests

Author:

Lopes José Frédson Bezerra¹²^ORCID,Lopes Fernando Bezerra¹^ORCID,Araújo Isabel Cristina da Silva¹,Pereira Erich Celestino Braga³,Brandão Maria Letícia Stefany Monteiro⁴,Feitosa Erialdo de Oliveira⁵,Luna Nayara Rochelli de Sousa⁶,Sousa Geocleber Gomes de⁷^ORCID,Amorim Aiala Vieira⁸,Iwata Bruna de Freitas⁹,Andrade Eunice Maia de¹

Affiliation:

1. Department of Agricultural Engineering, Federal University of Ceará, Campus Pici, Fortaleza 60455-760, Brazil

2. National Institute of Colonization and Agrarian Reform, Fortaleza 60441-750, Brazil

3. Technical Assistance and Rural Extension Company of Ceará, Baturité 61860-000, Brazil

4. Graduate Program in Ecology and Natural Resources, Federal University of Ceará, Campus Pici, Fortaleza 60440-900, Brazil

5. Department Agronomy, Federal Institute of Education Science and Technology of Amapá, Campus Porto Grande, Porto Grande 68997-000, Brazil

6. Municipal Secretary of Education of Fortaleza, Fortaleza 60170-173, Brazil

7. Institute of Rural Development, University of International Integration of Afro-Brazilian Lusofonia, Redenção 62790-000, Brazil

8. Department of Interdisciplinary Studies, Federal University of Ceará, Campus Pici, Fortaleza 60455-554, Brazil

9. Environmental Management, Federal Institute of Education Science and Technology of Piauí, Campus Teresina Central, Teresina 64000-040, Brazil

Abstract

In Brazil, logging in the Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest (SDTF) under management plans that include clear-cutting has increased in recent decades, and the structure, composition, diversity and functioning of the forest likely must have been affected. The aim of this study was to understand the growth dynamics of shrub–tree biomass (STB), species richness and vegetation structure as a function of regeneration time after clear-cutting (treatments), taking the Legal Reserve (40 years of regeneration) as reference. The study was carried out in 2018 at the Ramalhete Settlement, General Sampaio, in the state of Ceará. All plants with a circumference at breast height (CBH) ≥ 6 cm were identified and the CBH was measured across 42 sample plots (20.0 m × 20.0 m), using seven plots per treatment (3, 5, 8, 11 and 15 years after clear-cutting, and the Legal Reserve, 40 years of regeneration). The following were determined: STB (total and by species), density and basal area (by ecological group and diameter class), basal area (species of higher added value), diversity (Hill numbers), and the importance value index (IVI). It was found that during the early years (up to at least 11 years), many important forest characteristics related to the composition of the ecological groups and vegetation structure were strongly affected, and major impacts can be seen, the effects of which, however, decreased over time of regeneration, having almost no effect after 15 years. After 15 years following clear-cutting, the SDTF presented accumulated STB, species richness and structure similar to the area undergoing regeneration for 40 years. However, the small number of indicator species of more-preserved areas (even at T15 and T40) points out that management needs to be improved. However, promoting species of greater added value and determining whether the forest recovers its structure and diversity after successive cutting cycles also still need to be addressed.

Funder

National Council for Scientific and Technological Development—CNPq

National Institute of Colonization and Agrarian Reform—INCRA, the State Development Agency of Ceará

Graduate Program in Agricultural Engineering of the Federal University of Ceará—PPGEA/UFC

Publisher

MDPI AG

Subject

Forestry

Link

https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/14/9/1870/pdf

Reference78 articles.

1. FAO (2023, June 20). Trees, Forests and Land Use in Drylands: The First Global Assessment—Full Report. FAO Forestry Paper No. 184. Rome, Available online: https://www.fs.usda.gov/rm/pubs_journals/2019/rmrs_2019_patriarca_c001.pdf.

2. Silva, J.M.C., Leal, I.R., and Tabarelli, M. (2017). Caatinga: The Largest Tropical Dry Forest Region in South America, Springer International Publishing.

3. A Phytogeographical Metaanalysis of the Semiarid Caatinga Domain in Brazil;Moro;Bot. Rev.,2016

4. Multiple drivers of aboveground biomass in a human-modified landscape of the Caatinga dry forest;Souza;For. Ecol. Manag.,2018

5. Resprouting drives successional pathways and the resilience of Caatinga dry forest in human-modified landscapes;Barros;For. Ecol. Manag.,2020