View article

Successional dynamics and environmental associations of 18 pioneer and 24 commercial tree species were studied in a 4-year chronosequence of logging gaps in a Bolivian tropical forest. Logging gap area ranged from 108 to 1246m². Pioneer regeneration was 71–387 more abundant than that of commercial species in all harvest years. Pioneer saplings (>1.5m tall and <10cmdbh) were more abundant in 2- and 4-year-old gaps than in 1-year-old gaps, but pioneer seedlings (≤1.5m tall) were more abundant in 1-year-old openings. By contrast, there were no significant differences among harvest years in size class distributions of commercial seedlings or saplings. Some pioneers (Acacia polyphylla, Urera baccifera, Heliocarpus americana, Cecropia concolor, and Inga edulis) were associated with large gaps or coarse soils with high herbaceous cover. Among commercial trees, Ampelocera ruizii, Hura crepitans …