Indicadores estruturais e biológicos em áreas de reflorestamento na Amazônia Maranhense

Abstract

Environmental degradation in the Maranhão Amazon, primarily resulting from deforestation and the expansion of agricultural and livestock activities, compromises biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, making forest restoration a fundamental strategy for the recovery of these areas. In this context, the present study aimed to investigate the relationships between the biotic environment, represented by above-ground biomass, vegetation structure, and litter, and the composition and diversity of soil surface invertebrate fauna in reforestation areas located in the municipalities of Santa Luzia do Paruá and Maranhãozinho, Maranhão. The work was carried out on 11 properties, 7 communities participating in the Mastercard Priceless Planet Coalition project, executed by the Associação Educação e Meio Ambiente (EMA), encompassing 4 reforestation models and a control area (baseline). Biomass estimates were performed using destructive and allometric methods, litter quantification, vegetation structure survey, and the use of epigeal macrofauna data obtained by pitfall traps. The results showed that, approximately one year after the implementation of reforestation, no statistically significant differences were observed among the evaluated models for above-ground biomass, litter, and epigeal macrofauna. The only significant relationship was found between the number of stems and basal area, indicating the initial advancement of vegetation structure. The data obtained constitute an important baseline ("zero time") for monitoring forest restoration in the Maranhão Amazon, providing subsidies for future evaluations of ecological succession and the effectiveness of environmental recovery strategie