Mauritia flexuosa (buriti palm) is considered a key species in the swampy environment and little is known about their population structure to support its management and conservation strategies. This work investigated six populations of this species, from swampy areas with different degrees of human disturbance in the municipality of Bela Vista de Goiás, Silvânia and São Miguel do Passa Quatro, GO, in the nuclear region of the Brazilian Cerrado, a savannah-like vegetation. Plant height data were collected from 584 individuals, from seedlings to adults, with 100 sampled individuals per population, excluding one, in which 84 individuals were sampled. Most of the studied populations showed distribution of individuals in plant height classes according to expected inverted-J shaped curve, a self-regenerating population characteristic. The highest proportion of dead individuals occurred in the first height class and the highest life expectancy occurred in the height class with interval from 3.5 m to 7.0 m.
Mauritia flexuosa; Swamp and Population structure
