Canopy architecture after selective logging in a secondary atlantic rainforest in Brazil

Abstract

Sustainable forest management promotes financial revenues while keeping the forest cover and environmental services. Nevertheless, the logging operation causes changes in the forest and canopy horizontal and vertical structure. Our objective is to evaluate the changes in the forest canopy and its consequences to the forest management, following logging in a secondary Atlantic Rainforest. We used hemispherical photography to determine the Canopy Openness (CO), Leaf Area Index (LAI) and the radiation absorption (fAPAR) in nine experimental plots before and after logging. We did not find a clear correlation between the forest horizontal structure and the canopy architecture. Despite this, there was an increase in CO and decrease in LAI and fAPAR after logging. The variation in CO and fAPAR were affected by logging intensity, but LAI did not show the same pattern. We suggest a conservative maximum logging intensity of 30% of the basal area and tree density.