CHARACTERIZATION OF SITES AND BEHAVIOR OF FOREST SPECIES IN PROCESS OF GULLY STABILIZATION

Abstract

The study characterized the sites and the behavior of the forest species Acacia mangium Willd; Inga uruguensis Hook & Arn; Syzygium jambolanum (Lam.) DC. and Tapirira guianensis Aubl; in a gully in Nazareno county, MG. To understand the behavior of the forest species analyzed with the respective environmental variables of each site was also envisaged. Aiming to characterize the sites, the slopes of the gullies were stratified into lower, medium and upper gradients, for which analyses in the soils for the variables: physicochemical and moisture were performed. The monitoring of the development of the species was done by means of the measures of total height, soil height stem circumference and crown area. Four measurements were accomplished at 20, 25, 28 and 31months of age. The statistical program R was employed for the statistical analysis. The lower, mediumand upper gradients presented soils of poor fertility in the six areas studied. On the average, the lower gradient presented greatest soil moisture followed by the medium and upper gradients. Acacia mangium and Inga uruguensis showed greatest growth in the period of the study, while Syzygium jambolanum and Tapirira guianensis did not stand out for the studied environments. Acacia mangium presented best growth in the mesic sites and Inga uruguensis stood out in the moist sites, showing a positive relationship between moisture content and growth.