Abstract
Management of remnants in Atlantic Forest is an alternative for their conservation, however, information on the growth and ecology of those species is lacking. This study aimed to describe diametric growth of Balfourodendron riedelianum, Cordia trichotoma and Ocotea diospyrifolia based on its growth rings and to verify the relationship between this growth with the environmental characteristics in different altitude levels and forest types. Diametric growth was higher for the largest tree diameters of the three species. Based on the fitted growth model, the age in which mean annual increment in diameter becomes greater than the current annual increment was 55 years for B. riedelianum (DBH = 18.27 cm), 45 years for C. trichotoma (DBH = 26.56 cm) and 44 years for O. diospyrifolia (DBH = 26.05 cm). Environmental conditions and forest types affected diametric growth of these species. B. riedelianum and O. diospyrifolia showed higher diametric growth in plain regions with higher fertility soil and few frosts. C. trichotoma was negatively affected by low water availability in winter at lower altitudes and showed higher diametric growth at higher altitudes, where soil fertility is low but there is well-drainage, high rainfall and high relative humidity during the dry season.
Highlights
The Atlantic Forest is one of the most diverse biomes and is the home of many endemic species (Guedes-Bruni et al 2009)
The maximum current annual increment in diameter (CAId) for B. riedelianum occurred in diameter at breast height (DBH)-class of 30-35 cm (1.52 cm year-1), for C. trichotoma in DBH-class of 15-20 cm (1.59 cm year-1) and for O. diospyrifolia in DBH-class of 30-35cm (1.71 cm year-1)
Using fitted growth models and based on diameter, the Biological Rotation Age (BRA) values were estimated in 55 years with Minimum Logging Diameter (MLD) of 18.27 cm for B. riedelianum, 45 years with 26.56 cm for C. trichotoma and 44 years with 26.05 cm for O. diospyrifolia
Summary
The Atlantic Forest is one of the most diverse biomes and is the home of many endemic species (Guedes-Bruni et al 2009). In order to guarantee the conservation of the remnants, the Atlantic Forest Law was Growth of forest species has been studied worldwide by the measurement of growth rings. Climate-growth relationships are extensively known (Costa et al 2015, Rohner et al 2016, Granato-Souza et al 2018), contributing to identify the environmental preferences of a given species, for the restoration of degraded areas and to analyze the effects of climate changes. The measurement of growth rings is an efficient technique that allows to obtain information on past diameter growth both quickly and at a low cost. Information about tree growth is used in forest management to determine the Biological Rotation Age (BRA) and the Minimum Logging Diameter (MLD) of each species (Schöngart et al 2007, 2008, De Ridder et al 2013, López et al 2013). Toledo et al (2011) pointed out that knowing environmental conditions and your effect in tree growth rates contribute to forest management
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