Dynamics of dry tropical forest after three decades of vegetation suppression

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyze the dynamics of the community and shrub-woody individuals in a dry forest in the Brazilian semiarid region after 29 years of vegetation suppression. Individuals with a circumference at 1.30 m above the ground (CBH) ≥ 6 cm were counted and their heights and CBH were measured in 40 permanent plots on three monitoring occasions (2011, 2013 and 2015). In the period between 2011 and 2015 the area presented a below average precipitation for the last 30 years. Phytosociological parameters and diversity were estimated. The density of individuals decreased from 2011 to 2015 (p < 0.01) and the basal area was similar. During the monitoring period, Poincianella bracteosa stood out in density, frequency and dominance. Phytosociological changes were more evident for an interval of four years. After 29 years of vegetation suppression, the community diversity is within the values for preserved semiarid (caatinga) vegetation. A long period of drought was the main disturbance factor affecting vegetation dynamics.

Mudanças temporais na estrutura vegetacional de um fragmento de Caatinga, sul do Piauí

“…No primeiro inventário em 2016 foram amostrados 835 indivíduos e no segundo em 2019 foram 787 indivíduos. Foi ainda registrado um decréscimo de 86 pela mortalidade e ganho de [44], observaram aumento na área basal.…”

Composition of Caatinga Species Under Anthropic Disturbance and Its Correlation With Rainfall Partitioning

“…The natural vegetation in this region is described as Shrub Savanna-steppe (Caatinga) (Melo et al, 2019) with a height between 3 and 15 m, and which during the wet period exhibit native tree-like shrub and herbaceous stratum species, while in the dry period show Leafless tree-like shrub species and bare soil. The experimental site is located in an area which underwent several years of selective wood extraction and which has a highly heterogeneous landscape characterized by tree-shrub vegetation, with deciduous species.…”

“…The sizes of the experimental plots used in phytosociological surveys mostly have dimensions varying between 100 m 2 and 400 m 2 ; smaller plots induce the need for more repetitions (Ferraz et al, 2013;Martins et al, 2017;Melo et al, 2019;Rodal et al, 2008aRodal et al, , 2008b. Ferraz et al (2013) found that the minimum number of sampling plots (plots with 400 m 2 ), which result in errors lower than 20%, is 22 units.…”

“…Studies of floristic and phytosociological compositions allow to know the performance of different physiognomies, to simulate future scenarios of the floristic composition, phytosociological structure, regeneration of different plant communities and of the biomass, and to subsidize forest management plans (Martins et al, 2017;Melo et al, 2019). Sampaio and Silva (2005) cited several phytosociological studies of Caatinga, generating accurate data on plant measurements in various environments.…”

Application of statistical control on water quality in cisterns in the semiarid Pernambucano

“…National territory and occupying the states of Bahia, Ceará, Piauí, Pernambuco, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Sergipe, Alagoas, Maranhão, besides the state of Minas Gerais that is outside the northeast region (Beuchle et al, 2015). Seasonal and periodic droughts establish intermittent river regimes and leave the vegetation without leaves (Melo et al, 2019).…”