Post-fire dynamics of tree vegetation in forests with and without a history of selective logging in the Eastern Amazon.

Worldwide, forests are susceptible to fire. Forests with fire and selective logging interactions require monitoring and evaluation. This study evaluated the phytosociology and dynamics of tree vegetation in a disturbed forest (DF) and an undisturbed forest (UF) in selective logging areas affected by fire, in the Brazilian East Amazon. All trees with DBH ≥ 5 cm were measured and identified botanically in 93 plots (5 X 50 m) in the DF area and 58 plots (5 X 50 m) in the UF area, in 2010 (before logging), 2011, 2015 and 2017 (two years after the fire). Analysis of species and tree composition, diversity, similarity, mortality and recruitment were carried out. The fire affected the DF and UF areas in a similar proportion in terms of trees loss and basal area, intensifying the mortality rate. In the short term (2 years), the fire did not cause a significant reduction in species diversity, but there was a tendency towards a similarity loss in species composition in the area disturbed by logging. Subsequent assessments are necessary to understand the forest's recovery mechanisms.

Modeling and dynamics of growth and yield of tree species in Mimosa scabrella stands.

"Bracatingais" are common forest formations formed by bracatinga (Mimosa scabrella) and secondary species, which have replaced bracatinga over time; these forests are an important source of income for small farmers. The objective of this study was to model the growth and yield volume of firewood per unit of area and to evaluate the dynamics of the stock across the years. Data from 320 plots were used to fit 12 mathematical models separately addressing the data for bracatinga and secondary species and total species. The Clutter model presented better results for bracatinga (IA = 0.954 and Syx% = 8.54) and for total species (IA = 0.917 and Syx% = 11.56). The modified Clutter model was the best for the secondary species, with IA = 0.952 and Syx% = 25.08. The volumetric estimation of these equations was used to compare the estimated volume of the bracatinga with that of the secondary species, identifying the age as between 13 and 14 years when the volume of the bracatinga is supplanted by the volume of the secondary species. Furthermore, 8 years of age was ideal for clearcutting the bracatingais.

Modeling residual biomass from mechanized wood harvesting with data measured by forest harvester.

The lack of accurate models for estimating residual biomass in wood harvesting operations results in underutilization of this co-product by forestry companies. Due to the lack of this information, forestry operations planning, such as chipping and transport logistics, are influenced, with a consequent increase in costs. Thereby, the aim of this study was to propose and evaluate statistical models to estimate residual biomass of Eucalyptus sp. in wood harvesting operations by means of tree variables measured from harvester processing head. Generalized linear models were composed through stepwise procedure for estimating residual biomass by tree covariates: diameter at breast height, commercial height, commercial limit diameter, and stem commercial volume, considering also their transformations and combinations. Residual biomass distributions with positive skew support the application of generalized linear model and Gamma distribution in random component, since normality assumption in traditional linear regression was a requirement not satisfied in this study. By stepwise procedure, tree variables associated to forest biomass were selected, whose linear combinations resulted in models with high statistical efficiency and accuracy. Thus, models developed in this study are innovative tools to estimate residual biomass in mechanized wood harvesting, in which can be inserted into harvester's hardware to provide real-time information.

Energy balance and CO2 emission in mechanized biomass harvesting in pine stands under thinning.

Biomass is an important component of the Brazilian energy matrix, with a potential contribution of co-products from thinned forests. The aim of this work was to evaluate the energy balance and CO2 potential emission in mechanized biomass harvesting operations in Pinus taeda stands at 9 and 10 years-old and under thinning, searching to support the use of co-product biomass from thinning as a renewable energy source. Thinning was carried out through cut-to-length harvesting method, in which large logs for sawmill and small logs for energy were produced. In addition, tops, needles, barks, and branches were considered as co-products. The balance between consumed energy and emitted CO2 by machines for thinning in relationship to the energy and CO2 in thinned biomass was estimated. Thus, dry matter, energy potential, and CO2 potential emission were evaluated and compared considering thinning stand ages as treatments. Mechanized thinning consumes a large energy and produces CO2, however, the energy consumed by machines is lower than 1% of the estimated energy potential in thinned biomass, while the CO2 emission is lower than 0.5% of the biomass. Therefore, the use of co-product biomass of thinning is an important way to mitigate greenhouse gas emission.

Evolution of tree stem taper in Pinus taeda stands / Evolução do afilamento do tronco em povoamentos de Pinus taeda

ABSTRACT: This study aimed to evaluate the evolution of stem taper of trees in Pinus taedastands using stem analysis data from 126 and 120 trees sampled from established stands in Paraná and Santa Catarina States, respectively. The integer and fractional power polynomial was fitted to estimate diameters inside bark along the stem and was used to construct taper curves by age class. The model identity test was applied to verify the change in stem form of trees. The evolution of natural and artificial form factors in the trees was also analyzed. The curves constructed from the fitted taper functions and form factors showed that the stems become more cylindrical with increasing age; the identity test indicated that, in general, the taper curves statistically differ between themselves. This showed that stratifying the data into age classes for fitting in taper functions can produce more accurate assortment estimates.

RESUMO: O objetivo desta pesquisa foi avaliar a evolução do afilamento dos fustes de árvores em povoamentos de Pinus taeda, utilizando dados de análise de tronco de 126 e 120 árvores amostradas, respectivamente, em plantios estabelecidos nos estados do Paraná e de Santa Catarina. O polinômio de potências inteiras e fracionárias foi ajustado para estimativa dos diâmetros sem casca ao longo do tronco e usado para construção de curvas de afilamento por classe de idade. O teste de identidade de modelos foi aplicado para verificar a mudança na forma do tronco das árvores. Foi analisada também, a evolução do fator de forma natural e artificial das árvores. As curvas construídas a partir das funções de afilamento ajustadas e os fatores de forma mostram que os troncos se tornam mais cilíndricos com o aumento da idade. O teste de identidade indicou que, em geral, as curvas de afilamento diferem estatisticamente entre si. Isso evidencia que a estratificação dos dados em classes de idades nos ajustes de funções de afilamento pode produzir estimativas mais acuradas do sortimento.

Comparação de métodos e processos de amostragem para estimar a área basal para grupos de espécies em uma floresta ecotonal da região norte matogrossense / Comparison of sampling and processes for estimating basal areas for groups of species from an ecotonal forest in the northern region of Matogrosso

O objetivo do presente estudo foi o de comparar a acuracidade e a precisão das estimativas de área basal obtidas de processos, intensidades e métodos amostrais com valores obtidos pelo censo, numa floresta ecotonal de 120 hectares na região norte matogrossense, para oito grupos de espécies e para espécies individuais para árvores com DAP ≥ 30 centímetros. Aplicaram-se os processos: aleatório e o sistemático, com uma intensidade amostral de 5 e 10 por cento para 22 tamanhos e formas de parcelas variando de 400 m² a 10000 m². A área basal média por hectare foi de 11,08 m². As parcelas de 2500 m² (125 m x 20 m) apresentaram erros reais e de amostragem sempre inferiores a 10 por cento na estimativa de área basal para os grupos de todas as espécies e para as 15 de maiores valores de importância (VI). Para os demais grupos os erros aumentam na medida em que decresce a quantidade de árvores por hectare. Para as espécies, individualmente, os erros variaram de 28,7 por cento (Vochysia sp.) a 250,59 (Hymenaeae courbaril), respectivamente, para a mais e a menos freqüente, mostrando inviabilidade na aplicação de processos estimativos tradicionalmente empregados nos inventários florestais, notadamente para estimar parâmetros específicos de espécies raras (baixa freqüência por hectare).

The objective of this research was to compare the accuracy and the precision of estimates from basal area obtained by processes, intensities and methods of sampling with true values gotten from the census, in an ecotonal forest of 120 hectares in the northern region of Matogrosso, for eight groups of species and for individual tree species with dbh ≥ 30 centimeters. The applied processes were: random and the systematic, with a sampling intensity of 5 percent and 10 percent for 22 sizes and forms of plots ranging from 400 m to 10000 m². The average basal area per hectare was 11.08 m². The 2500 m² (125 m x 20 m) plots presented actual and sampling errors always inferior to 10 percent in estimating basal area for all species and for the 15 of greater importance values (VI). For the other groups the errors increase accordance to the decrease of tree density. For the species, individually, the errors varied from 28.7 percent (Vochysia sp.) to 250.59 percent (Courbaril hymenaeae), respectively, for the most and the least dense, thus showing the unfeasibility of applying traditional estimative processes to estimate specific parameters of species with low frequency by hectare (rare species).

Método para determinar o diâmetro máximo de corte em florestas tropicais utilizando-se o gráfico "Uplot-Dap"

This research presents a method for determination of the maximum diameter of cut in tropical forests being used the denominated graphic construction of "Uplot-Dap". The main objective consisted on detecting the existence and location of a possible maximum diameter in function of the biological balance of the species in a climax forest. To test the graphic method they were used 28320 DBH (cm) outside bark coming from 15 blocks of 96 hectares is of the National Forest of Tapajós, Belterra, Pará, Brazil. The method that uses technique of visual analysis of data as a way of interpretation of the dispersion of the diameters, was shown quite flexible and essentially practical. The graphs were built considering a width of diameter class of 10 cm adopted as reference value. Through this method it was possible to fasten the DBH=95 cm as an indicator of the maximum diameter of exploitability to be adopted in the 1st intervention as reference value in the cut operations for this forest type. Mean while this point can vary from forest to forest and its clearness depends on the forest type and its structural condition. The largest contribution of the graphic method consisted on respecting the properties of the diameter classes in natural forests that for biological reasons or sucessional estate, express its diameter distribution as a function of rare, null or probabilistics events. The efficiency of the method bases on its capacity of controlling the variation of the data so that the analysis are more consistent with the physical and biological factors that characterize the dynamics of natural forests.

A presente pesquisa apresenta um método de determinação do diâmetro máximo de corte para florestas tropicais utilizando-se a construção gráfica denominada de "Uplot-Dap". O objetivo da pesquisa foi detectar a existência e locação de um possível diâmetro máximo em função do equilíbrio biológico das espécies em uma floresta clímax, utilizando-se o método gráfico "Uplot-Dap". Para testar o método gráfico foram utilizados 28320 DAP com casca de árvores procedentes de 15 blocos de 96 ha da Floresta Nacional do Tapajós, Belterra, Pará. Os gráficos foram construídos considerando uma amplitude de classe diamétrica de 10 cm adotada como valor de referência. O método "Uplot-Dap" que utiliza técnica de análise visual de dados como forma de interpretação da dispersão dos diâmetros, mostrou-se bastante flexível e essencialmente prático. Através do método foi possível fixar o DAP=95 cm como um indicador do diâmetro máximo de explorabilidade a ser adotado na primeira intervenção como valor de referência nas operações de corte para esse tipo de floresta. Todavia, esse ponto pode variar de floresta para floresta e sua nitidez depende do tipo de floresta e suas condições estruturais. A maior contribuição do método gráfico consistiu em respeitar as propriedades das classes diamétricas em florestas naturais que por razões biológicas ou estágio sucessional, expressem a sua distribuição diamétrica como uma função de eventos raros, nulos ou probabilísticos. A eficiência do método baseia-se na sua capacidade de controlar a variação dos dados de modo que as análises sejam mais consistentes com os fatores físicos e biológicos que caracterizam a dinâmica de florestas naturais.