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Composition and structure of primary forest affected by forest fire in Eastern Amazon

Abstract

The floristic composition dynamics of a primary forest in the Brazilian Amazon, which was affected by fire in 1997, was analyzed by comparing data from sample inventories carried out in 1983, 1987, 1989, 1995, 2008 and 2012 in 12 plots of 0.25 ha each including therefore previous (14 years) and post-fire (15 years) periods. The study area is located in an area of dense ombrophilous forest, unaffected by anthropogenic disturbances, in the Tapajós National Forest, Pará state, Brazil. The questions of this study are the following: (1) What is the effect of a fire on the tree species composition of a mature forest in the Amazon? (2) Is there a difference in the diversity of tree species between before and after fire? To answer these questions, (i) the pre-and post-fire tree species composition were described, quantified and compared, and (ii) the richness and diversity of pre-and post-fire tree species were quantified and compared. After 15 years of fire, the forest had no loss in richness and diversity of tree species, indicating good resilience to the fire disturbance. The post-fire changes in the floristic composition of this primary forest are mainly driven by the gain and loss of locally rare species. Furthermore, some tree species with higher density and basal area were responsible for the maintenance of the forest structure, especially Rinorea guianensis Aubl. and Protium apiculatum Swart.

Keywords:
Floristic composition; Tropical forest; Resilience

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