Effect of two harvest intensities on the structure of a natural forest in paragominas, pará

Abstract

Changes in the forest structure were analyzed considering two harvest intensities in 108ha of primary forest in the Rio Capim Forest Management Unit, belonging to Cikel Brasil Verde Madeiras Ltda., in the municipality of Paragominas, Pará. Data were collected in 2003 (before harvesting) and 2004 (after harvesting) in 36 0.25ha permanent sample plots, randomly distributed in the area (12 in unlogged forest, 12 in logged forest and 12 in logged forest plus extraction of coarse woody debris). Before logging (2003), 4469 trees with DBH ≥ 10cm were recorded in the 36 plots (9ha sample). Seven months after logging (2004), the number of trees increased to 4531 but only 4330 were found alive. Lecythis idatimon, Poecilanthe effusa, Rinorea flavescens, Eschweilera grandiflora, Eschweilera pedicellata, Inga sp., Protium spp., Vouacapoua americana, Guatteria poeppigiana and Eschweilera coriacea were the ten most important species both before and after logging. Forest structure, in the two harvest intensities, had significant changes due to the logging. But there were no significant changes between the two logged areas, suggesting that the extraction of the coarse woody debris after logging did not cause significant damage to the remaining forest. Forest structure changed slightly after logging but these changes were not significant among the three communities. Despite the reduction in adult tree stock of commercial species due to logging and coarse woody debris extraction, the stand kept characteristics similar to the original forest. Studies on natural regeneration (DBH ≤ 10cm), pos-harvesting silviculture and growth of the forest are recommended.