VOLUME GROWTH, MORTALITY AND RECRUITMENT OF TWO ARAUCARIA FORESTS LOCATED IN PARANÁ STATE, BRAZIL

Abstract

Forest growth is expressed by the increase in volume, the mortality and the recruitment of subjects reaching predetermined size and thus become part of the sample measurement. Knowledge of the growth of natural forests is still poorly studied and needs long-term follow-ups. This study sought to gather information on the growth characteristics of two distinct areas of Araucaria Forest, one in Sao Joao do Triunfo, with 4 permanent plots, each one with 1 hectare of size, except one, installed in 1995, and another area in the General Carneiro and Coronel Domingos Soares county, where in 1998 were installed 8 permanent plots of 1 hectare each. With this data, it was noticed that in all aspects analyzed forests have different growth characteristics, this not only due to its range and its aspects, but also its history of forest land use. The area of General Carneiro and Coronel Domingos Soares had a higher growth rate, indicated by the PAI, both in volume and basal area. In this same area, the species in prominence is the Araucaria, while in the area of Sao Joao the group most prominently is the White one. With the analysis of other variables that measure growth it was possible to conclude that, regardless of the area, both forests continue to increase its density, the result of the continued growth of these.