regenerative potential of arboreal species in a fragment of the atlantic forest, pernambuco, brazil

The objective was to characterize the regenerating stratum of a Dense Ombrophilous Lowland Forest fragment, through evaluations of richness, structure and diversity. A total of 40 plots of 25 m² (5 m x 5 m) were allocated to estimate the natural regeneration rates per species for each class of plant size (RNC), in order to obtain the total natural regeneration index (RNT). The analysis was performed with individuals with CAP ≤ 15.0 cm and height equal or superior to 1.0 m. The height classes were pre-determined, where: C1 = 1.0 m-2.0 m; C2 = 2.1 m-3.0 m; C3 = > 3.0 m. We sampled 1197 individuals distributed in 81 species, 31 families and 51 genera. The Fabaceae family was richer, followed by Melastomataceae and Myrtaceae. The species Protium heptaphyllum was highlighted with the highest value of importance (VI), presenting 14.64% of the total of VI. The species that presented the greatest RNTs were: Protium heptaphyllum (Aubl.) Marchand, Thyrsodium spruceanum Benth., Eschweilera ovata (Cambess.) Miers e Brosimum guianense (Aubl.) Huber. In relation to the successional classification, there was a predominance of the species of beginning of succession, proving the young condition of the forest. The results show that the studied fragment presents a good regeneration capacity, allowing greater richness and diversity of species of the adult tree stratum in the long term.