EFFECT OF SILVICULTURAL TREATMENTS ON THE GROWTH OF Sterculia pilosa Ducke IN A TERRA FIME FOREST IN THE EASTERN AMAZON
diametric increment; liana cutting; tree girdling.
Knowledge of the specific characteristics of each species is necessary to make a decision about the need to apply silvicultural treatments to favor the development of each species specifically, since shade-intolerant species normally grow faster than shade-tolerant ones. With this objective, some species have already been studied, but there are still many to be evaluated, mainly those whose wood has commercial value. In this sense, the present study aims to contribute with information about the dynamics of population growth of the commercial species Sterculia pilosa Ducke, through the determination of the Annual Periodic Increment (IPA), after a reduced impact logging, liana cutting and release thinning. treetops in natural forest area. The study was carried out at the FMU (Forest Management Unit) Fazenda Rio Capim, belonging to the Cikel Group, located in the municipality of Paragominas, Brazilian Amazon. The experimental area consists of 700 ha, distributed in 14 UT (Work Unit) in the FMU. Of the total area (700 ha) 600 ha were explored in 2004 and 100 ha were left intact. In the logged area, silvicultural treatments were applied in 2005, the year following logging, consisting of cutting lianas and refinement by girdling trees. To evaluate the behavior of the Sterculia pilosa population, considering trees with DBH > 35 cm, a completely randomized design was used, considering four treatments. Data were collected on five occasions (2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009). The criteria used to select the trees that benefited from the silvicultural treatments were: minimum diameter of 35 cm, healthy trees with good shape. It was observed that the IPA, both for Sterculia pilosa and for the group of 57 species, was higher at T1 on the three occasions evaluated (one year, two years and four years) after the application of silvicultural treatments.