DETERMINATION OF THE THINNING PERIOD BY DENDROCHRONOLOGICAL AND MORPHOMETRIC ANALYSIS IN UNMANAGED STAND OF Ocotea porosa

ABSTRACT

Commercial plantations of Ocotea porosa available for studying are scarce and therefore should be used as a source of information to establish the potential for management of the species in plantations, even if these evaluations were not been held along the stand development. The recovery of the historical growth of these stands to optimize the management plans is possible by dendrochronology and by the analysis of morphometric and dendrometric data. The aim of this study was to use stand analysis tools, combined with the dendrochronological studies, to recover and to systematize the development of unmanaged stands. The study was conducted in an unmanaged stand ofOcotea porosa, with with 44 years of age in Rio Negro, PR state, in a UFPR research station. Growth inferences recovered by dendrochronology and the competition by the application of methodologies such as rate of coverage and crown cover rate showed consistent results in the analysis of population, indicating the need for a first thinning near 12 years old. Due to the small number of sampled trees, the results do not allow any definitive generalization. However, they are consistent to establish an analysis protocol for unmanaged stands of Ocotea porosa or other species.

Keywords:
forest management; competition; growth rings