Woody regeneration in an abandoned pasture in a deciduous seasonal forest

Abstract

The natural regeneration on pastures might be a quite slow process, due to many ecological barriers imposed by such environment. This study aimed at investigating the natural regeneration of woody species on an abandoned pasture, previously covered by Deciduous Seasonal Forest. For this purpose, we investigated the floristic patterns of regeneration by delimitating two environments: below tree canopies and outside canopies of remnant trees. Under twenty selected trees, we set four 4 m² plots per tree, being two plots under canopy and two plots outside it. We surveyed inside each plot all the woody individuals from 15 cm height and under 5 cm diameter at breast height. We found 245 individuals (224 below trees canopies and 21 outside them), distributed in 51 species, 42 genera and 22 botany families. Results point out to a huge regeneration potential for the studied area, as well as corroborate studies that indicate the facilitator effect of isolated remnant trees in pastures.