Abstract

The Brazil nut tree (Bertholletia excelsa Bonpl.) is a non-timber forest product of great ecological and economic importance in the southwestern Amazonian countries. The study aimed to analyze the effects of habitat (natural tree-fall gaps, logged gaps, and field crops) on the survival and early growth of Bertholletia excelsa (Brazil nut) seedlings in the Peruvian Amazon. Seedlings were monitored every 2 months for 1 year to record survival and seedling growth. We used linear mixed models to evaluate the effects of habitat type, time, and their interaction on diameter and height growth. The non-parametric Kaplan–Meier method was used to estimate survival probability. This study showed that the survival of B. excelsa seedlings was significantly higher in canopy gaps than in crop fields. We also revealed the negative effect of canopy cover on the early height growth. Height growth of surviving B. excelsa seedlings was significantly higher in logging gaps than in all other habitats, and in natural tree-fall gaps it was significantly higher than in crop fields, whereas seedlings in logging gaps and crop fields had significantly higher diameter growth than those in natural tree-fall gaps. Our results illuminate the potential of enrichment planting using B. excelsa in logged tropical rainforest in the southeast Peruvian Amazon.

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