Forest Degradation in the Southwest Brazilian Amazon: Impact on Tree Species of Economic Interest and Traditional Use
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Area
2.1.1. Campinarana
Forested Campinarana
Treed Campinarana
2.1.2. Bamboo-Dominated Open Forest
2.1.3. Open Forest with Bamboo and Palms
2.1.4. Open Forest with Palms
2.2. Forest Inventory
2.3. Characterization of Species by Timber, Non-Timber and Multiple-Use Potential
2.4. Data Analyses
3. Results
3.1. Forested Campinarana
3.2. Treed Campinarana
3.3. Bamboo-Dominated Open Forest
3.4. Open Forest with Bamboo and Palms
3.5. Open Forest with Palms
4. Discussion
4.1. Impact of Fire on Species Potentially Useful to Humans
4.2. Changes in Floristic and Structural Composition in Fire-Affected Vegetation
4.3. Implications for Future Studies
5. Conclusions
- Forest fires impacted the density of species potentially useful to humans in all use classes (timber, non-timber and multiple-use potential).
- Recurrent fire caused a drastic reduction in tree individuals potentially useful to humans.
- After the impact of fire, the analyzed areas showed a marked abundance of pioneer species. Some of these species have human use in all of the analyzed classes (timber, non-timber and multiple-use potential).
- Even with forest degradation by fire, some of the species that are useful to humans are maintained, despite a considerable reduction. All factors that degrade forest in the Amazon must be avoided, and, when degradation occurs, the remaining forests must be maintained due to their ecological, social, food and economic services.
- New studies should be carried out to improve understanding of all mechanisms of degradation affecting tree populations useful to humans in Amazonia’s many vegetation types.
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Vegetation Type/Acronym | Frequency of Forest Fire and Year of Occurrence | Inventory Year/Years Post First Fire and Last Fire | Number of Plots /Sizes | Location |
---|---|---|---|---|
Forested Campinarana FC | Unburned | 2019 | 10/ 50 × 50 m | Mâncio Lima, Acre −7.5623°, −72.9805° |
Burned once: 2010 | 2019/9 years | Mâncio Lima, Acre −7.5760°, −73.0004° | ||
Treed Campinarana TC | Unburned | 2019 | 10/ 50 × 50 m | Mâncio Lima and Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre −7.4804°, −72.8711°/ −7.4281°, −72.9504° |
Burned three times: 2010, 2016 and 2018 | 2019/9 years–2 years | Mâncio Lima, Acre −7.5548°, −72.9937° | ||
Open Forest with dominant bamboo OFDB | Unburned | 2016 | 10/ 100 × 50 m | Manoel Urbano, Acre −8.7018°, −69.668087° |
Burned once: 2005 | 2019/14 years | Manoel Urbano, Acre −8.7128°, −69.6768° | ||
Open Forest with Bamboo and Palms OFBP | Unburned | 2016/0 years | 18/100 × 50 m | Rio Branco, Acre −9.9234°, −68.3559° |
Burned once: 2005 | 2016/9 years | Rio Branco, Acre −9.9046°, −68.1376° | ||
Burned twice: 2005 and 2010 | 2016/9 years–6 years | Rio Branco, Acre −9.9010°, −67.975009° | ||
Open Forest with Palms OFP | Unburned | 2020/10 years | 10/ 100 × 50 m | Sena Madureira, Acre −10.1136°, −69.2211° |
Burned once: 2010 | 2020/10 years | Sena Madureira, Acre −10.1296°, −69.2601° |
Number of Individuals Measured in the Plots | Total | TP | NTP | MUP | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
13,290 | 1672 | 1427 | 191 | ||
Area | individuals ha−1 ± standard deviation | ||||
FC | UB | 599 ± 103 ns | 70 ± 25 ns | 67 ± 58 ** | - |
B′ | 680 ± 54 ns | 53 ± 18 ns | 5 ± 5 ** | - | |
TC | UB | 710 ± 124 ** | 85 ± 74 ** | 39 ± 36 ** | - |
B″′ | 10 ± 10 ** | 00 ± 00 ** | 00 ± 00 ** | - | |
OFDB | UB | 423 ± 50 ns | 84 ±15 ** | 88 ± 22 ns | 10 ± 6 ns |
B′ | 389 ± 34 ns | 39 ± 0 ** | 87 ± 15 ns | 7 ± 4 ns | |
OFBP | UB | 518 ± 129 ** | 66 ±57 ** | 61 ± 14 * | 20 ± 5 ** |
B′ | 360 ± 164 ** | 40 ± 15 ** | 33 ± 14 * | 10 ± 10 ** | |
B″ | 221 ± 106 ** | 31 ±14 ** | 17 ± 10 * | 7 ± 8 ** | |
OFP | UB | 486 ± 61 ** | 188 ±15 ** | 109 ± 48 ns | 12 ± 6 ns |
B′ | 658 ± 60 ** | 96 ± 34 ** | 117 ± 35 ns | 10 ± 6 ns | |
Area | total number species in all plots per area | ||||
FC | UB | 188 | 24 | 7 | - |
B′ | 145 | 19 | 4 | - | |
TC | UB | 171 | 13 | 4 | - |
B″′ | 7 | 0 | 0 | - | |
OFDB | UB | 179 | 31 | 24 | 5 |
B′ | 164 | 28 | 19 | 5 | |
OFBP | UB | 272 | 44 | 20 | 8 |
B′ | 179 | 39 | 16 | 7 | |
B″ | 152 | 33 | 19 | 4 | |
OFP | UB | 176 | 35 | 18 | 5 |
B′ | 185 | 36 | 26 | 7 |
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Costa, J.G.; Fearnside, P.M.; Oliveira, I.; Anderson, L.O.; de Aragão, L.E.O.e.C.; Almeida, M.R.N.; Clemente, F.S.; Nascimento, E.d.S.; Souza, G.d.C.; Karlokoski, A.; et al. Forest Degradation in the Southwest Brazilian Amazon: Impact on Tree Species of Economic Interest and Traditional Use. Fire 2023, 6, 234. https://doi.org/10.3390/fire6060234
Costa JG, Fearnside PM, Oliveira I, Anderson LO, de Aragão LEOeC, Almeida MRN, Clemente FS, Nascimento EdS, Souza GdC, Karlokoski A, et al. Forest Degradation in the Southwest Brazilian Amazon: Impact on Tree Species of Economic Interest and Traditional Use. Fire. 2023; 6(6):234. https://doi.org/10.3390/fire6060234
Chicago/Turabian StyleCosta, Jessica Gomes, Philip Martin Fearnside, Igor Oliveira, Liana Oighenstein Anderson, Luiz Eduardo Oliveira e Cruz de Aragão, Marllus Rafael Negreiros Almeida, Francisco Salatiel Clemente, Eric de Souza Nascimento, Geane da Conceição Souza, Adriele Karlokoski, and et al. 2023. "Forest Degradation in the Southwest Brazilian Amazon: Impact on Tree Species of Economic Interest and Traditional Use" Fire 6, no. 6: 234. https://doi.org/10.3390/fire6060234