Abstract
Size structure and spatial arrangement of 13 abundant tree species were determined in a riparian forest fragment in Paraná State, South Brazil (23°16'S and 51°01'W). The studied species were Aspidosperma polyneuron Müll. Arg., Astronium graveolens Jacq. and Gallesia integrifolia (Spreng) Harms (emergent species); Alseis floribunda Schott, Ruprechtia laxiflora Meisn. and Bougainvillea spectabilis Willd. (shade-intolerant canopy species); Machaerium paraguariense Hassl, Myroxylum peruiferum L. and Chrysophyllum gonocarpum (Mart. & Eichler ex Miq.) Engl. (shade-tolerant canopy species); Sorocea bonplandii (Baill.) Bürger, Trichilia casaretti C. Dc, Trichilia catigua A. Juss. and Actinostemon concolor (Spreng.) Müll. Arg. (understory small trees species). Height and diameter structures and basal area of species were analyzed. Spatial patterns and slope correlation were analyzed by Moran's / spatial autocorrelation coefficient and partial Mantel test, respectively. The emergent and small understory species showed the highest and the lowest variations in height, diameter and basal area. Size distribution differed among emergent species and also among canopy shade-intolerant species. The spatial pattern ranged among species in all groups, except in understory small tree species. The slope was correlated with spatial pattern for A. polyneuron, A. graveolens, A. floribunda, R. laxiflora, M. peruiferum and T. casaretti. The results indicated that most species occurred in specific places, suggesting that niche differentiation can be an important factor in structuring the tree community.
Highlights
Plants had different requirements related to seed germination, seedling emergence and survival and recruitment to higher size classes (Messaoud and Houle 2006, Tsujino and Yumoto 2007)
Wishing to contribute to the knowledge of tree species ecology in Atlantic Forest fragments, the aim of this work was to determine the size and spatial structures of some of the abundant species from different ecological groups of a riparian forest fragment
The 100 ha of seasonal semideciduous forest fragment are situated on a private property called “Fazenda Doralice”, which lies on the left margin of the Tibagi River (23◦16 S and 51◦01 W)
Summary
Plants had different requirements related to seed germination, seedling emergence and survival and recruitment to higher size classes (Messaoud and Houle 2006, Tsujino and Yumoto 2007). Soil fertility and light are among these requirements (Messaoud and Houle 2006). Because the resources related to these requirements are heterogeneously distributed in the environment (Bianchini et al 2001, Messaoud and Houle 2006), there is often a high spatial heterogeneity in microsites suitable for tree seedling establishment (Houle 1992). Contrasting habitat associations and resource availability modify vital rates during regeneration, so that realized vital rates range widely among species (Wright et al 2003). Wright et al (2003) presented the size distribution for the 73 tree species from Barro Colorado, Panama. The authors concluded that most species has intermediate light requirements and lifestyles
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