Population structure of Pinus elliottii in areas of forest regeneration in Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil

Abstract

Plants of the genus Pinus are known worldwide by biological invasion potential. In the 1960s there were massive plantations of Pinus elliottii in the Campus of Juiz de Fora University, and nowadays the species is widespread. This study analyzed the species population structure in two distinct forest regeneration environments: open area (abandoned pasture) and closed-canopy (secondary forest) on the campus of UFJF, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil. The hypothesis were that the open environment would present a better structured population, due to the preference of species for open areas. Random plots were allocated (15 plots of 5 m x 5 m in each environment), and all individuals of the species (trees: dbh . 5 cm, saplings, dbh <5 cm and H . 1 m and seedlings: H <1 m) were measured. We sampled 93 individuals (2,480 ind. ha-1) in the open environment and 122 (3253 ind. ha-1) in the closed-canopy environment. Unlike expected, the environments did not differ in the structural parameters, both presenting stable and self-regenerating populations. The absence of significant correlations (rs, P > 0.05) with environmental variables showed that competition for resources within the local vegetation is not an apparent problem for the permanence of species.