| In order to assess long-term community dynamics in tree populations, we investigated trees with a diameter at breast height (DBH) > 5 cm in an 11-ha fragment of submontane tropical forest in southeastern Brazil, at the beginning and end of a seven-year period. We observed a general tendency toward decreasing numbers of trees and toward stability in basal area. The stability in basal area was associated with an equilibrium between the loss of trees and the basal area gain from the horizontal growth of surviving trees, as well as from recruits The abundance of dead trees was significantly higher than was that of recruits. Changes in tree abundance occurred mainly in the lower DBH classes, whereas changes in basal area occurred mainly in the intermediate... |
