In the interior of a seasonal semideciduous forest at Santa Maria, RS, Brazil, we investigated whether a wide and lighter trail differed from a narrow and darker path (darker trail) concerning the reproductive phenology of G. concolor. We also examined whether the creation of natural gaps in 2002 affected the incident light and phenology of G. concolor in 2003, answering the questions: (a) Do the trails differ regarding the incident light on the tree canopy and the number of male inflorescences, female flowers, fruits and fruit size (phenological variables)? (b) Is there a relationship between incident light on the tree canopy and the phenological variables? (c) In each trail, do individuals adjacent to gaps differ from individuals far away from gaps regarding the interannual variation in the incident light and phenological variables? In 2002, the incident light was significantly higher on lighter trail than darker trail trees, but trails did not differ in respect to phenological variables. In 2003, incident light and phenological variables did not differ significantly between trees in lighter trail and darker trail. Therefore, the light incidence on lighter trail did not promote a significantly phenological change. The result is supported by the low number of significant regressions between light incidence and phenological variables. Trees adjacent to gaps presented a light incidence variation significantly higher than those trees far away from gaps, but did not differ in respect to interannual variation in phenological variables. Hence, the higher light incidence after the creation of gaps did not affect significantly the phenology of G. concolor as well, which may need even higher amounts of light to respond to gaps or open trails. Our results may give some insight to the design of ecological trails or other open spaces on natural reserves, to reduce its impact on flowering and fruiting production of the species nearby.
anthropic trail; gap creation; Gymnanthes concolor; phenology
