INITIAL GROWTH PERFORMANCE OF VALUABLE TIMBER SPECIES IN SOUTHERN BRAZIL: Araucaria Angustifolia, Balfourodendron Riedelianum, AND Parapiptadenia Rígida

Abstract

ABSTRACT The initial growth of three Brazilian native timber species in the city of Dois Vizinhos-PR, Brazil, was described - Araucaria angustifolia, Balfourodendron riedelianum, and Parapiptadenia rigida, using four non-linear mathematical models (Gompertz, Logistic, Logistic 4P, and Chapman-Richards). In the first 4 years after planting, information about collar diameter (mm), total height (m), crown height (m), and crown diameter (m) was obtained twice a year for 12 individuals per species. Crown area (m²) and crown volume (m³) were estimated. The growth in these four variables (collar diameter, total height, crown area, and crown volume) was projected using the models, and their fitting was assessed based on the values of the Akaike Information Criterion, the Bayesian Information Criterion, the standard error of estimate, and the coefficient of determination. The models generated excellent statistics for all parameters in all variables, with better statistics for collar diameter (coefficient of determination higher than 0.65 and standard error lower than 30%) and total height (coefficients of determination higher than 0.72 and standard error lower than 37%). Considering the three species, Parapiptadenia rigida showed the fastest growth in all variables (median of 70.97 mm for collar diameter, median of 4.475 m for total height, median of 10.35 m² for crown area, and median of 15.30 m³ for crown volume at 48 months). Longer monitoring periods in this and other experiments are recommended to characterize the growth of these three Brazilian native timber species to adequately describe their performance in timber and forest restoration projects.

Keywords

• Subtropical Atlantic Forest
• Fitting models
• Non-linear growth models