Spatial distribution pattern of Mezilaurus itauba (Meins.) Taub. Ex mez. in a seasonal forest area of the southern Amazon, Brazil
Spatial analysis of forest tree distribution is a powerful tool to respond to basic ecological questions, and represent a useful support to strategies of genetic conservation and sustainable management practices of forest resources. Spatial analysis techniques combined with the use of Geographical I...
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Italian Society of Silviculture and Forest Ecology (SISEF)
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doaj-5d0bd219d2f840fe89617f6e2162b3f32020-11-24T21:39:39ZengItalian Society of Silviculture and Forest Ecology (SISEF)iForest - Biogeosciences and Forestry1971-74581971-74582016-06-019149750210.3832/ifor1427-0081427Spatial distribution pattern of Mezilaurus itauba (Meins.) Taub. Ex mez. in a seasonal forest area of the southern Amazon, BrazilEbert A0Brito Da Costa R1Brondani Gilvano E2College of Forestry Engineering, Federal University of Mato Grosso, Cuiabá (Brazil)College of Forestry Engineering, Federal University of Mato Grosso, Cuiabá (Brazil)College of Forestry Engineering, Federal University of Mato Grosso, Cuiabá (Brazil)Spatial analysis of forest tree distribution is a powerful tool to respond to basic ecological questions, and represent a useful support to strategies of genetic conservation and sustainable management practices of forest resources. Spatial analysis techniques combined with the use of Geographical Information Systems have been commonly applied to the study of stochastic processes in order to determine the existence of clusters to be related to microenviromental conditions and/or genetic factors. The present study focused on the distribution patterns of individuals of Mezilaurus itauba in a seasonal forest of the southern Amazon, with the aim of providing information about the spatial arrangement of these species at the juvenile and adult stages. Ripley’s K function with radius of 10, 20 and 30 m was used to describe spatial distribution patterns. The hypothesis of complete spatial randomness (CSR) of individuals was tested by constructing confidence envelopes for the Ripley’s K function through Monte Carlo simulations using a Poisson homogeneous process. The results obtained suggest a general random distribution of individuals, though a tendency to clustering at close distances was detected for individuals classified as adults (DBH > 50 cm). Contrastingly, a completely randomized spatial pattern was found for juveniles trees (DBH < 50 cm). Our results provide a useful baseline for the development of sustainable management plans and conservation of Mezilaurus itauba, as well as for other economically-exploited, native tree species in the southern Amazon forest.https://iforest.sisef.org/contents/?id=ifor1427-008Ripley’s K FunctionSpatial Distribution PatternsForest ManagementConservation of BiodiversityHorizontal Structure |
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DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Ebert A Brito Da Costa R Brondani Gilvano E |
spellingShingle |
Ebert A Brito Da Costa R Brondani Gilvano E Spatial distribution pattern of Mezilaurus itauba (Meins.) Taub. Ex mez. in a seasonal forest area of the southern Amazon, Brazil iForest - Biogeosciences and Forestry Ripley’s K Function Spatial Distribution Patterns Forest Management Conservation of Biodiversity Horizontal Structure |
author_facet |
Ebert A Brito Da Costa R Brondani Gilvano E |
author_sort |
Ebert A |
title |
Spatial distribution pattern of Mezilaurus itauba (Meins.) Taub. Ex mez. in a seasonal forest area of the southern Amazon, Brazil |
title_short |
Spatial distribution pattern of Mezilaurus itauba (Meins.) Taub. Ex mez. in a seasonal forest area of the southern Amazon, Brazil |
title_full |
Spatial distribution pattern of Mezilaurus itauba (Meins.) Taub. Ex mez. in a seasonal forest area of the southern Amazon, Brazil |
title_fullStr |
Spatial distribution pattern of Mezilaurus itauba (Meins.) Taub. Ex mez. in a seasonal forest area of the southern Amazon, Brazil |
title_full_unstemmed |
Spatial distribution pattern of Mezilaurus itauba (Meins.) Taub. Ex mez. in a seasonal forest area of the southern Amazon, Brazil |
title_sort |
spatial distribution pattern of mezilaurus itauba (meins.) taub. ex mez. in a seasonal forest area of the southern amazon, brazil |
publisher |
Italian Society of Silviculture and Forest Ecology (SISEF) |
series |
iForest - Biogeosciences and Forestry |
issn |
1971-7458 1971-7458 |
publishDate |
2016-06-01 |
description |
Spatial analysis of forest tree distribution is a powerful tool to respond to basic ecological questions, and represent a useful support to strategies of genetic conservation and sustainable management practices of forest resources. Spatial analysis techniques combined with the use of Geographical Information Systems have been commonly applied to the study of stochastic processes in order to determine the existence of clusters to be related to microenviromental conditions and/or genetic factors. The present study focused on the distribution patterns of individuals of Mezilaurus itauba in a seasonal forest of the southern Amazon, with the aim of providing information about the spatial arrangement of these species at the juvenile and adult stages. Ripley’s K function with radius of 10, 20 and 30 m was used to describe spatial distribution patterns. The hypothesis of complete spatial randomness (CSR) of individuals was tested by constructing confidence envelopes for the Ripley’s K function through Monte Carlo simulations using a Poisson homogeneous process. The results obtained suggest a general random distribution of individuals, though a tendency to clustering at close distances was detected for individuals classified as adults (DBH > 50 cm). Contrastingly, a completely randomized spatial pattern was found for juveniles trees (DBH < 50 cm). Our results provide a useful baseline for the development of sustainable management plans and conservation of Mezilaurus itauba, as well as for other economically-exploited, native tree species in the southern Amazon forest. |
topic |
Ripley’s K Function Spatial Distribution Patterns Forest Management Conservation of Biodiversity Horizontal Structure |
url |
https://iforest.sisef.org/contents/?id=ifor1427-008 |
work_keys_str_mv |
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