How environmental factors condition natural regeneration in the altitudinal gradient of a montane rainforest

doi:10.3832/ifor4319-017

How environmental factors condition natural regeneration in the altitudinal gradient of a montane rainforest

Victor Braga Rodrigues Duarte⁽¹⁾ , Vítor Abreu de Souza⁽²⁾, Henrique Machado Dias⁽¹⁾, Sustanis Horn Kunz⁽¹⁾, Eduardo Van Den Berg⁽³⁾

iForest - Biogeosciences and Forestry, Volume 17, Issue 3, Pages 132-139 (2024)
doi: https://doi.org/10.3832/ifor4319-017
Published: May 04, 2024 - Copyright © 2024 SISEF

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The response of plant species to the variation in abiotic factors affects the regeneration capacity and, consequently, the structure of the forest community. This study aims to describe the structure of the regenerating stratum in a Brazilian montane rainforest and investigate its relationship with environmental and spatial variables along an altitudinal gradient. Data on the height and diameter at soil height of regenerating individuals and environmental variables were collected from 28 sample units, distributed in seven altitudinal sites. To understand the spatial influence on species distribution, spatial variables (MEMs - Moran’s Eigenvector Maps) were created based on geographic coordinates. Phytosociological parameters were calculated by species. Floristic similarity between the altitudinal quota was determined by the Bray-Curtis index (UPGMA), and the species that characterize each group were determined by the Indicator Species Analysis. Redundancy Analysis (RDA) was performed, and generalized linear models were adjusted to verify the influence of environmental and spatial factors on regenerating vegetation. The species Palicourea sessilis had the highest Importance Value in the regenerating community. Two floristic groups were formed: the highest sites (1420 to 1550 m a.s.l.) were floristically more similar to each other (Group 1) than to the sites in the 1112 to 1391 m elevation range (Group 2). Overall, 11 species were indicators of Group 1 and only one of Group 2. Finally, a pattern of species substitution was verified as a function of abiotic factors. The first two axes of the RDA explained 51.02% of the variation in the floristic composition of the regenerating community. Natural regeneration demonstrated environmental preferences, being influenced by luminosity, abundance in adult components, calcium and sodium contents, plant litter accumulation, altitude, and the spatial structure of the environment. Altitude did not seem to influence the pattern of abundance or richness of regenerating species.

Keywords

Environmental Variation, Species Distribution, Vegetation-Environment Relationship, Elevation, Understory

Authors’ address

(1)

0000-0002-4958-6810
0000-0003-2217-7846
0000-0001-6937-7787
Department of Forest and Wood Sciences, Federal University of Espírito Santo, 29550-000, Jeronimo Monteiro, Espírito Santo (Brazil)

(2)

0000-0003-1865-2835
Department of Forest Sciences, Federal University of Lavras, 37200-900, Lavras, Minas Gerais (Brazil)

(3)

0000-0002-0843-6437
Department of Ecology and Conservation, Federal University of Lavras, 37200-900, Lavras, Minas Gerais (Brazil)

Corresponding author

Victor Braga Rodrigues Duarte
victorbrduarte@gmail.com

Citation

Braga Rodrigues Duarte V, Abreu de Souza V, Machado Dias H, Horn Kunz S, Van Den Berg E (2024). How environmental factors condition natural regeneration in the altitudinal gradient of a montane rainforest. iForest 17: 132-139. - doi: 10.3832/ifor4319-017

Academic Editor

Susanna Nocentini

Paper history

Received: Jan 31, 2023
Accepted: Feb 08, 2024

First online: May 04, 2024
Publication Date: Jun 30, 2024
Publication Time: 2.87 months

Open Access

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.

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