Effect of the degree of anthropization in the structure, at three sites fragmented evergreen piedmont forest

Abstract

The Ecuadorian Amazon is recognized worldwide for its extraordinary megadiversity and multiplicity of forest goods and services. However, the inadequate practices of extractive use of non-timber forest products, the clearing of extensive areas of forests for the development of oil activity and the unsustainable use of timber as economic sustenance of communities have led to structural and functional changes In ecosystems. The study was carried out in three sites of a degraded evergreen forest of the eastern Amazon (Mera, Shell and Puyo) in order to evaluate the effect of the degree of intervention on the forest structure. A floristic inventory was carried out with 60 plots of 25 x 25 m2 and tree species ≥ 2.5 cm d1.30 and species in natural regeneration phase with h <2 m were measured. We found 35 families, 65 genera, 101 species and 2 298 individuals, with Arecaceae, Fabaceae and Moraceae being the most representative botanical families. The degree of anthropization was highly modified where Mera was the best state of conservation. It was evidenced a low floristic diversity with patterns of alteration in the vertical and horizontal structure, distinguished phytosociologically by two strata in the sites of Shell and Puyo and by three in Mera, indicator of structural changes.