Regeneração e dinâmica em florestas de caatinga jovem e madura

Abstract

The dry tropical forests are being changed by human actions. The historical use of the area suffered and its proximity to preserved fragments should be considered in order to better understand the successional process of these areas, as well as influence the regeneration mechanisms and dynamics of re-established populations, affect the speed of recovery. Populations established in modified areas experience different microclimate variations found in mature forests, and little known species response to these changes. Thus, this thesis aimed to: a) to characterize and compare the density, wealth, height, diameter and basal area of the community of a secondary forest savanna who suffered human intervention in a range of five years; b) analyze the effect of interannual and seasonal variations in precipitation and microclimate variations in the dynamics of three populations of mature forests and young. To evaluate the potential recovery of the area were established 200 plots (5 x 10 m) in an area of caatinga secondary forest in the municipality of Caruaru, Pernambuco, Brazil. In 2008 and 2013 each of the plots had all living individuals with stem diameter at ground level ≥ 3 cm identified and measured for height and diameter. For the study of population dynamics, 100 subplots of 25 m² were established in the young forest and the same amount in a mature forest, with a monthly monitoring during the period 2013-2015 and noted the numbers of individuals born and dead Poincianella pyramidalis, Schinopsis brasiliensis and Myracrodruon urundeuva. They were also measured the microclimate variables (light, temperature, wind and humidity) in order to correlate them with the demographic parameters of the species. Over the five years the number of species was almost the same, there was a reduction in the total density and basal area average due to the maturation of the forest and probably prolonged drought of 2012. In 2008 the total basal area was 10.59 m².ha-1, increasing to 11.01 m².ha-1. The average height of the community had no significant increase of 3.59 m in 2008 to 3.65 m in 2013. The amount of individuals inserted in the smaller diameter classes declined from 2008 to 2013, while the opposite occurred in the larger classes. The population dynamics varied between forests, seasons and years (interannual variation of precipitation). Despite the age of the forest have low explanatory power of the births and deaths of P. pyramidalis in short time scale, 30% of the density was explained by the age of the forest, suggesting that recruitment for advanced ontogenetic stages is influencido by interannual variations occurring in microclimate conditions of each forest, and negatively correlated with light in young forest. Mortality was correlated with light, tempetaratura and humidity in the mature forest and light and moisture in the young forest. In S. brasiliensis was no correlation between light and density, as well as between wind and humidity in the number of deaths only in the young forest. The power of influence of forest age and interannual and seasonal variations in precipitation on births was low and no microclimate variable was correlated with birth. In M. urundeuva, temperature and humidity were correlated to birth in mature forest, but in the young forest only light correlated to birth. Overall, forest age influenced the density and seasonal and annual rainfall totals influenced mortality and births, respectively, but in general, the explanatory power was also low. It was concluded that the speed of the regenerative process and resilience of the forest is affected by the abandonment of time, and the changes that happen in the space of five years considered slow and may not detect major changes in advance of the recovery process of a forest that already presents 19 years of age. In addition to the age of the forest, the temporal variation (between years and between seasons) linked to the influence of microcimáticas variations alter the density and the number of dead individuals and born in forests with different ages. It has been seen that demographic responses of woody plants to micro-climatic variations can be complex in dry forests and dissimilarities in the microclimate between forests suggest slow the return of such conditions. Such a return is extremely important for future projection of time required for the formation of new post-forest land use for agricultural activities in semiarid environments.