Tree Structure and Turnover in a Peruvian Premontane Amazon Forest

Decada N.Y.B.; Quintana E.D.; Cerna-Cueva A.F.; Escalante C.A.; Gonzales J.R. · Jurnal Manajemen Hutan Tropika (2026) · DOI: 10.7226/jtfm.32.4.399

Resumen

Humid tropical forests are increasingly exposed to fire, yet local diversity, stand structure, and species composition may respond differently. We compared tree communities in lower and upper sectors of a university reserve near Tingo María, Peru, using 27 rectangular 500 m² sampling units (13 lower, 14 upper). The upper sector showed field evidence of fire, although fire history was confounded with elevation and no pre-fire inventory was available. We assessed alpha and beta diversity, diameter and height structure, and species and family importance values at the sampling-unit level. Species composition differed robustly between sectors for presence-absence and abundance data (PERMANOVA, p-value < 0.001), whereas multivariate dispersion did not. After false-discovery-rate correction, alpha-diversity and structural variables showed no confirmed differences. Nevertheless, medium-to-large effect sizes indicated trends toward lower mean height and emergent-tree representation, and larger crown diameter and understory representation, in the upper sector; these trends were not confirmed at this sample size. Dominance shifted: upper-sector importance was density-driven for Senefeldera inclinata, whereas lower-sector importance was basal-area-driven for Cedrelinga cateniformis. The data therefore demonstrate taxonomic turnover but cannot attribute sector differences specifically to fire rather than elevation-associated conditions. Repeated integrated monitoring is needed to distinguish these effects.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional Agraria de la Selva