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Management criteria for Ficus insipida Willd. (Moraceae) in Amazonian white-water floodplain forests defined by tree-ring analysis

Critères de gestion dérivés de l’analyse de cernes pour Figus insipida Willd. (Moraceaea) dans des forêts inondables amazoniennes

Annals of Forest Science volume 64, pages 657–664 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

Ficus insipida Willd. (Moraceae) is a fast growing tree species of early successional stages in the Amazonian nutrient-rich white-water floodplains (várzea). The species is one of the most economically important low-density wood species in the community-based forest management project in the Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve (MSDR) in Central Amazonia, where timber species are managed using a polycyclic selection system with a minimum logging diameter (MLD) of 50 cm and a cutting cycle of 25 years. In this study we analyze the floristic composition, stand structure and forest regeneration of a natural 20 year-old stand at an early successional stage and we model tree growth of diameter, height and volume of F. inspida based on tree-ring analysis to define management criteria. The volume growth model indicates that the preferred period for logging should be at a tree age of 17 years when the current annual volume increment peaks. This age corresponds to a diameter of 55 cm, which would be an appropriate MLD.

Résumé

Ficus insipida Willd. (Moraceae) est une essence à croissance rapide présente dans les premiers stades de succession dans les forêts inondables sur sols riches d’Amazonie («varzea»). Cette essence est l’une des plus importantes essences productrice de bois de faible densité, dans le cadre du projet de gestion forestière communautaire durable de la réserve de Mamiraua, en Amazonie Centrale. Ces forêts sont gérées sur le principe d’un système polycyclique avec récolte des arbres présentant un diamètre minimal de 50 cm et une révolution de 25 ans entre récoltes. La présente étude analyse la composition floristique, la structure des peuplements et la régénération dans une forêt naturelle âgée de 20 ans et issue d’une phase de régénération. Un modèle de croissance en diamètre, hauteur et volume a été adapté à Ficus insipida sur la base d’une analyse de cernes, afin de définir des critères de gestion. Le modèle de croissance en volume indique que l’âge de récolte optimal est d’environ 17 ans, au moment du pic de production courante annuelle. Á cet âge, les arbres atteignent un diamètre de 55 cm, qui constituerait ainsi un diamètre minimal de récolte (DMR) tout à fait approprié.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Max-Planck-Institute for Limnology, August Thienemannstr. 2, PO Box 165, 24302, Plön, Germany

    Jochen Schöngart, Florian Wittmann, Hans-Jürgen Krambeck & Wolfgang Johannes Junk

  2. Institute of Agronomy in the Tropics, University of Göttingen, Griesebachstrasse 6, 37077, Göttingen, Germany

    Martin Worbes

  3. Institute Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Av. André Araujo 2936, PO Box 478, 69011-970, Manaus-AM, Brazil

    Jochen Schöngart, Florian Wittmann & Maria Teresa Fernandez Piedade

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  1. Jochen Schöngart
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  2. Florian Wittmann
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  3. Martin Worbes
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  4. Maria Teresa Fernandez Piedade
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  5. Hans-Jürgen Krambeck
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  6. Wolfgang Johannes Junk
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Correspondence to Jochen Schöngart.

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Schöngart, J., Wittmann, F., Worbes, M. et al. Management criteria for Ficus insipida Willd. (Moraceae) in Amazonian white-water floodplain forests defined by tree-ring analysis. Ann. For. Sci. 64, 657–664 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1051/forest:2007044

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Annals of Forest Science

ISSN: 1297-966X