Impacts of fire on the tree-shrub component in an ombrophilous forest fragment in Areia, Paraiba State/ Impactos do fogo sobre o componente arbustivo-arboreo de um remanescente de Floresta Ombrofila Aberta, Areia, Estado da Paraiba

• Published in: Acta scientiarum. Biological sciences Vol. 31; no. 4; p. 407
• Main Authors: Xavier, Klerton Rodrigues Forte, de Andrade, Leonaldo Alves, Coelho, Maria do Socorro Evangelista, Assis, Felipe Nollet de Medeiros, Fabricante, Juliano Ricardo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: Universidade Estadual de Maringa 01-10-2009
• ISSN: 1679-9283
• DOI: 10.4025/actascibiolsci.v31i4.4522

The objective of this study was to evaluate the impacts of fire on the tree-shrub component in an ombrophilous forest fragment in Areia, state of Paraiba, Brazil. Forty parcels were plotted in two environments: intact forest (Environment I) and burned forest (Environment II). The vegetation structure was evaluated by conventional parameters, and the difference in the number of shoots of individuals between the environments was evaluated using the Kruskal-Wallis test. Also calculated were the index of diversity, equability and the similarity between the environments. We sampled 1,960 individuals, belonging to 22 families, 26 genera and 35 species. In Environment I, Protium heptaphyllum, Cupania oblongifdia and Brosimum guianense were the most important and abundant species, while the dead individuals were the majority in Environment II. The Kruskal-Wallis test showed there were significant differences between the intact and burned environments. The indices of diversity and the equability of Environment I were greater than those found in Environment II. Nevertheless, the two environments remain similar according to the Jaccard index. The results showed that fire does not appear to change the composition of species; however, it affected the structure of the community, and increased significantly the number of shoots, indicating the death of the canopy in several individuals. Key words: forest fire, shoots, environmental impacts, mountain forest. O objetivo do presente trabalho foi avaliar os impactos causados pelo fogo sobre o estrato arbustivo-arboreo de um fragmento de Floresta Atlantica, em Areia, Paraiba. Foram plotadas 40 parcelas de 100 [m.sup.2] em dois ambientes: floresta intacta (Ambiente I) e floresta queimada (Ambiente II). O presente levantamento incluiu individuos com diametro ao nivel do solo (DNS) ≥ 3 cm, sendo a estrutura da vegetacao avaliada por parametros convencionais. Calcularam-se, tambem, os indices de diversidade e de equabilidade, alem da similaridade entre os ambientes. Foram amostrados 1.960 individuos, pertencentes a 22 familias, 26 generos e 35 especies. No Ambiente I, Protium heptaphyllum foi a especie mais abundante e importante; no Ambiente II, sobressairam-se os individuos mortos. O teste Kruskal-Wallis (H) analisou a diferenca no numero de perfilhos dos individuos entre os Ambientes, apontando diferenca significativa entre estes. O indice de diversidade e a equabilidade no Ambiente I foram maiores que no atingido pelo incendio; pelo indice de Jaccard, porem, verificou-se que continuam similares. Os resultados demonstraram que o incendio parece nao modificar a composicao especifica da sinusia, mas afeta a estrutura da comunidade, alem de aumentar significativamente o perfilhamento, indicando a morte da parte aerea de muitos individuos. Palavras-chave: incendio florestal, perfilhamento, impactos ambientais, floresta serrana.