Dynamics of natural regeneration after disturbance in a remnant of Mixed Ombrophilous Forest in southern Brazil

Abstract

This study evaluated changes in the structure for remnant Mixed Ombrophilous Forest recovering from logging, which ceased over 40 years ago. Regarding the dynamics of the floristic composition of natural regeneration, 18 species remained (23.38% of the total) and 27 new species entered (35.06% of the total). The greatest increases were observed for Allophylus edulis, Myrsine umbellata, and Miconia cinerascens. When analyzing the dynamics of regeneration in ecological groups, it was observed that pioneer species had a similar value in both surveys (29.4% and 29.6%); secondary species decreased from 56.6% to 52.8%, and late-successional species increased from 0.2% to 6.0%. Therefore, the forest fragment studied is in a healing phase after disturbance, characterized by the increased regeneration of pioneer species as a result of sufficient light entering the interior of the forest.

Influence of environmental variables on the floristics and structure of natural regeneration in a Mixed Ombrophilous Forest remnant

“…Considering the environmental heterogeneity of this phytoecological region, mainly associated with the climate and other environmental factors, and history of anthropogenic disturbances, it is expected that different forest fragments present great floristic variations (Higuchi et al 2012a). In a previous study on the natural regeneration of a MOF at the same site as the present study, Ruggiero et al (2021) found that approximately half of the species (51.67%) were found in only 5% of the sample units, demonstrating great species diversity in the regenerated MOF. The environmental heterogeneity associated with geographic location drives the diversity of forests, including the elements of different forest types (Teixeira & Assis 2009).…”