Canopy openness and soil conditions explain community structure and diversity in a tropical seasonal forest in south-eastern Brazil

Abstract

In tropical semi-deciduous forests, where 20-50 % of canopy trees shed their leaves in the dry season, species with varying degrees of leaf deciduousness share the same space and resources. Here, we describe the tree community in a 10.24-ha plot to assess whether small-scale variation in canopy structure and soil conditions are associated with changes in tree community structure, diversity, and composition. We sampled 11,585 individuals with diameter at breast height ≥ 4.8 cm belonging to 146 species. Plot density (1,129 trees ha -1 ) and basal area (24.81 m 2 ha -1 ) were smaller than other similar forests, which may be due to an old wind disturbance. For 8.96 ha, we evaluated the relationship between abiotic factors and community descriptors using regression models. Results varied within size classes, but canopy openness was associated with changes in the community structure and diversity, and soil fertility did not affect species diversity. Tree density, basal area, and diversity were smaller in areas with more canopy gaps. Tree density and basal area increase with phosphorus availability, while the density of deciduous trees increased with canopy openness and base saturation. Thus, we found evidence that canopy openness and soil can explain small-scale variations of forest structure and diversity.

Trees response to selective thinning and pruning in Sudanian woodland zone

“…A significantly higher stem recruitment at stage 2 with 30% thinning was not surprising because of an existing potential of stems ≤1 m height for the recruitment under this management regime. Several studies discussed the relationship between canopy openness, light penetration, and tree recruitment in forests (Ding and Zang, 2021;Barreto et al, 2022;Mahayani et al, 2022). They provided evidence that increase canopy openness can lead to greater light penetration and better recruitment of trees in forests.…”

“…They provided evidence that increase canopy openness can lead to greater light penetration and better recruitment of trees in forests. However, this may depend on the existing potential for recruitment, the vegetation structure and composition (de Avila et al, 2015(de Avila et al, , 2017Barreto et al, 2022) explaining the decrease in stem recruitment at 60% thinning. In stage 1, the canopy cover is not as dense as in stage 2, while in stage 3 there would be few stems <1 m height with the close canopy.…”