TREE DIAMETER GROWTH FOLLOWING SILVICULTURAL TREATMENTS IN A SEMI-DECIDUOUS SECONDARY FOREST IN CENTRAL BRAZIL

In the Cerrado biome of Brazil, savannas and dry forests are intimately linked and form mosaics. These forests are composed of species of high commercial value, well accepted in the timber market, which causes intensive deforestation on the remaining vegetation. Thus, the management of these forests is an important alternative to reduce deforestation in the remaining vegetation. The objective of this study was to analyze the response of tree species in relation to silvicultural treatments of competition and liana cutting in a semi-deciduous forest in Central Brazil. The results showed that community basal area increased 24% over 4.8 years and the median periodic annual increment in diameter was about 20% higher in plots with silvicultural treatments: 2.9 mm.yr(-1) in the control compared to 3.2 mm.yr(-1) to 3.6 mm.yr(-1) between treatments. This study demonstrated that it is possible to increase the rates of radial growth through silvicultural techniques.