Candeia (Eremanthus erythropappus) has been intensely exploited, because of its high economic importance. The solution for controlling this disordered exploitation is the development and implementation of forest management projects, and knowledge on candeia structure, both in the specific form and forest form, is crucial for the development of correct management. The objective of this work was to study the structure of Eremanthus erythropappus in different environments and characterize the parameters of the horizontal, vertical and internal structures and the distribution of diameter, basal area and volume of the species. Data were obtained from 5 sites; sites 1,2 and 3 consisted of candeia populations in the specific form, site 4 with rare occurrences of the species, and site 5 with occurrence of candeia in the forest form. A total of 5 plots, 400m², systematically distributed in each site were sampled. The analysis showed that, over the time, the number of other species increases and the number of candeia trees decreases. Site 1 showed the highest absolute density, while the best individuals, both in size and trunk quality, were found in site 5. The tree individuals in the studied sites were grouped in two total height strata, but the vertical strata limits differed among sites. The density distribution (n ha-1) per class of diameter for the tree community, considering only candeia specimens, was not significantly different by the X² test.
Phytossociological structure; Itacolomi; diametric distribution
