SELECTIVE LOGGING EFFECTS ON ABUNDANCE, DIVERSITY, AND COMPOSITION OF TROPICAL UNDERSTORY HERBS

Abstract

Little is known about the impacts of selective logging on herbaceous plants of tropical forests. If logging impacts on nontimber species are low and little time is required for recovery, logged forests could be compatible with conservation of some elements of the understory flora. As many nontimber species may have commercial value, knowledge about the impacts of different logging intensities is necessary to determine levels of timber extraction compatible with multiple use of forests. In this study, we examined the effects of logging intensity, time after logging, and skidder tracks, on the composition and diversity of the ground-level herb community of a terra-firme forest in central Amazonia. Logging was carried out at varying intensities in eight 4-ha experimental plots in 1987, three plots in 1993, and five plots were controls. Herb community composition, analyzed with hybrid multidimensional scaling (HMDS), was not significantly affected by logging intensity, but was significantly related to the are...