Resumen de Persistent fire effect on forest dynamics and species composition of an old-growth tropical forest

Dárlison Fernandes Carvalho de Andrade, Ademir Roberto Ruschel, João Olegário Pereira de Carvalho, Gustavo Schwartz, João Ricardo Vasconcellos Gama

• Aim of study:

  To assess structure, recruitment and mortality rates of tree species over almost three decades, 14 years before and 15 years after a forest fire.

  Materials and methods:

  All trees ≥ 5 cm in DBH were identified and measured in 12 permanent plots (50 m x 50 m), in 1983, 1987, 1989, 1995, 2008, and 2012 of a dense ombrophilous forest in Eastern Amazon, Brazil. The analyses were carried out including all sampled species and their ecological groups: shade-tolerant, light-demanding, and pioneer species. Treatments were compared through a Linear Mixed Effect Model.

  Main results:

  The 15-year post-fire period is not enough for the old-growth tropical forest to recover its pre-fire conditions of recruitment and mortality rates. The post-fire recruitment and mortality rates increased, mainly the recruitment of pioneer species ( p- value < 0.05).

  Research highlights:

  In a period of 15 years after the occurrence of a surface fire, the old-growth tropical forest still has high recruitment rates of shade-tolerant and light-demanding species and high incidence of pioneer species, confirming the persistent fire effects on forest dynamics and species composition in this ecosystem.