The influence of the vegetation cover and the remnant forest distance in the natural regeneration process in a Dense Montane Ombrophilous Forest

ABSTRACT Considering the large number of degraded and abandoned areas resulting from plantation and pasture activities, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of land use and distance of a forest remnant on natural regeneration in the Jurupará State Park, where pasture and citrus plantation were abandoned nine years ago. It was evaluated the density of seed rain, seed bank and saplings in these past land uses. Three transects of 300 × 20 m were placed, with 15 delimited plots of 20 × 20 m; from each transect five of these plots were surveyed. The past land use significantly influenced the seed rain, which presented higher density in the ex-citrus plantation in relation to the pasture. The latter, however, presented no significant effect on the variables analyzed. The ex-citrus plantation serves as a catalyst for the natural regeneration process, while the pasture requires management to reduce grass competition with natural regeneration.