Sprouting After Uprooting of Canopy Trees in the Atlantic Rain Forest of Brazil

The goal of this study is to report on tree species for which uprooting is the starting point for the development of sprouts. One hundred uprooted trees were evaluated in order to investigate the sprouting ability of different species and size dasses, and to determine the extent of contribution of sprouting to gap closure. The large proportion (82%) of sampled trees with live sprouts indicates that uprooting need not be associated with the death of the tree. The occurrence of sprouting, while independent of the diameter of the fallen trunk, varied greatly among species. Al the sampled trees found with sprouts fit the definition of non-pioneer species. This study suggests that sprouts may compete successfully with pioneer trees in the process of gap closure. RESUMO O objetivo deste trabalho e apresentar dados referentes a esp&cies arb6reas, para as quais a queda representa o ponto de partida para o desenvolvimento de rebrotas. Foram avaliadas 100 arvores caidas, com sistema radicular exposto, com vistas a avaliar a habilidade de rebrota de diferentes esp&cies com diferentes dasses de tamanho, e determinar o grau de contribuiSao destas rebrotas para o fechamento da clareira formada pela queda da arvore. A grande proporSao (82%) de arvores caidas, amostradas com rebrotas vivas, indica que a queda pode nao estar associada A consequente morte do individuo. A ocorrencia de rebrota independe do diametro do tronco caido, contudo e altamente variavel entre especies. Nenhuma das especies amostradas se enquadra como pioneira tipica, dentro das diferentes categorias sucessionais consideradas. Este estudo sugere que as rebrotas podem competir exitosamente com arvores pioneiras no processo de fechamento de dareiras.

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