Crescimento e propriedades da madeira de Copaifera langsdorffii Desf. sob regime de manejo florestal

Abstract

The objective of this research was to study the growth and wood properties of Copaifera langsdorffii trees in an open rain forest, under a forest management system in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil. Therefore, samples from 20 trees were collected, and the development of the research was divided into two stages. In the first one, a dendrochronological study for the species was carried out and in the second one, a study of the effect of forest management on the anatomical, chemical and physical properties of C. langsdorffii wood. The area where the trees were collected, has as main characteristic the fact that had occurred the first lumbering in 1987 and reaching his second cutting cycle in 2013. During the dendrochronological study, a master chronological series of the tree species and also an analysis of the cambium sensitivity to climatic variations (temperature and precipitation) were done. Furthermore, weather effects of El Niño event were found in the growth of those trees. The study of the effect of forest management on the properties of wood, was carried through the anatomical, physics and chemistry characterization of woods that were formed 10 years before and 10 years after the first cutting cycle that had occurred in 1987. It was also analyzed the effect of the distance of the trees studied in relation to the glade (remaining stub) opened in the year of the first lumbering, in 1987. The results indicated that C. langsdorffii has potential to the dendrochronological studies, presenting a significant correlation between the width of the rings within and among those trees. The forest management led to diametrical higher increases than those observed before the first lumbering. It was observed that the higher diametrical growth of trees occurred during periods of the year in which the precipitation rate is higher. The study indicated a significant change in anatomical structure of the wood, by the increased frequency of vessels and decreasing width of rays formed on wood after lumbering in1987. Those results were also observed for the trees distances in relation to the glade. The changes into anatomical structure showed a decrease in the density of the wood formed after 1987. By chemical analysis, 10 chemical elements were found, 4 macro and 6 micronutrients. There was no significant difference in the assimilation of minerals into the wood as a result of forest management. Thus, there was no negative effect on the availability of nutrients to the C langsdorffii. Overall the results showed that forest management was beneficial to the C. langsdorffii, growth because that action led to possible and considerable gains in growth after forest intervention, without incurring significant losses in the anatomical, physical and chemical structure in the wood species.