Ecosystem recovery in terra firme forests after cutting and burning: a comparison on species richness, floristic composition and forest structure in the Jau National Park, Amazonia

摘要

Inventory data were collected in 3 sites of primary forest and 3 of a 40-year-old secondary forest (the result of slash and burn shifting agriculture where the principal crop was cassava, Manihot esculenta) in Jau National Park, Manaus, Brazil. Thedata were used to determine whether secondary forest can attain the structure, richness and floristic composition of primary forest over a 40-year period. The primary forest had significantly more families, species richness and tree density than the secondary forest, but mean diameter at breast height (DBH), DBH distribution, total basal area and biomass were not significantly different between the forest types. Burseraceae, Chrysobalanaceae, Lecythidaceae and Myristicaceae were the most important families in primary forest, while Burseraceae, Lecythidaceae, Caesalpiniaceae and Sapotaceae were most important in secondary forest. It was concluded that 40 years is sufficient time for the secondary forest to recuperate to a similar structure (DBH, basal area and biomass) as that of the primary forest, but was insufficient time for recovery of the original species richness.