Abstract
Abstract The Caatinga (dryland) vegetation of northeastern Brazil has become highly anthropized while still poorly studied, with little research evaluating its potential for natural regeneration. This study sought to compare the compositions and structures of the shrub-arboreal components of two Caatinga areas with different histories of anthropic disturbance in the Negreiros National Forest, Pernambuco State, Brazil. Twelve 4 × 50 m plots were established in each area, sampling all individuals ≥ 1 m tall with stem diameters at ground level ≥ 3 cm. A total of 34 species were sampled. The two areas had very distinct structures, with different dominant species: Croton blanchetianus, Poincianella pyramidalis, and Croton sp. in the conserved area; and Cnidoscolus quercifolius and Aspidosperma pyrifolium in the anthropogenically impacted area. The presence of cattle grazing appears to be negatively interfering with the recuperation of the anthropized area, which continues as a phytophysiognomically open site more than 30 years after discontinuing agricultural activities.
Highlights
AND OBJECTIVESTropical dry forests (TDFs) are among the most threatened but least-studied forest ecosystems in the world (e.g., Miles et al, 2006; Sunderland et al, 2015)
The Caatinga vegetation of northeastern Brazil has become highly anthropized while still poorly studied, with little research evaluating its potential for natural regeneration
The results reported here for the NNF, indicated that only the density of the shrub-arboreal component in the anthropogenically impacted area was smaller than in the conserved area, even 30+ years after abandoning agricultural activities in the former site; the mean plant diameters and species diversity in the anthropogenically impacted area were larger than those observed in the conserved area, as occasionally seen in TDFs (Pulla et al, 2015)
Summary
AND OBJECTIVESTropical dry forests (TDFs) are among the most threatened but least-studied forest ecosystems in the world (e.g., Miles et al, 2006; Sunderland et al, 2015). They can be characterized as forest formations in tropical regions experiencing summer rains, low annual precipitation levels (500-1,500 mm), and strong seasonality in terms of rainfall distribution (5-8 dry months) (Sunderland et al, 2015) In response to those climatic conditions, TDFs have similar structures and physiognomies (Miles et al, 2006), including high percentages of deciduous species in their shrub-arboreal components (Apgaua et al, 2014; DryFlor, 2016). Research priorities designed to subsidize global, regional, and national policies related to TDFs include inventories to evaluate their floristics and biogeographies (Sunderland et al, 2015)
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