Distance-independent competition indices in an Atlantic Forest fragment

Scientific investigations on the behavior of competition indices in different height strata are scarce and can subsidize the development of plans, maintenance and monitoring for the degraded area recovery and contribute to the development of future research on growth dynamics in uneven stands. This work aimed to evaluate the influence of distance-independent competition indices on the biometric behavior of trees in different height strata within an Atlantic Forest fragment under forest recovery. This study was conducted in an area of 2.53ha, where inventory was carried out with a sampling intensity of 15.81%. Six competition indices were calculated for trees contained in the lower, middle and upper strata of the fragment. Indices whose lower values represent greater competition on the target tree exhibited a positive correlation and had a better association with the biometric attributes. The behavior of biometric aspects regarding the competitiveness of the target tree was different between height strata. It is concluded that, for the study site, IC2 competition index demonstrated flexibility for analyzing relationships between competitiveness and biometric aspects in different height strata. Woody biometrics aspects increase asymptotically with reduced competition over the target tree.