<b>Impacts of fire on the tree-shrub component in an ombrophilous forest fragment in Areia, Paraíba State</b> - DOI: 10.4025/actascibiolsci.v31i4.4522

Abstract

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 Paraíba, 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 oblongifolia 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