Tree Structure and Turnover in a Peruvian Premontane Amazon Forest

Nikie Yessica Barboza Decada; Edilberto Díaz Quintana; Alberto Cerna Cueva; Casiano Aguirre Escalante; Jenri Ruiz Gonzales

doi:10.7226/jtfm.32.4.399

Nikie Yessica Barboza Decada ⁽¹⁾ , Edilberto Díaz Quintana ⁽¹⁾ , Alberto Cerna Cueva ⁽¹⁾ , Casiano Aguirre Escalante ⁽¹⁾ , Jenri Ruiz Gonzales ⁽¹⁾

(1) Universidad Nacional Agraria de la Selva, Carretera Central Km. 1.21, Tingo María, Huánuco, Peru 10131, Peru

https://doi.org/10.7226/jtfm.32.4.399

Issue
Vol. 32 No. 4 (2026)

Submitted
June 25, 2026

Accepted
July 27, 2026

Published
October 8, 2026

Keywords:

beta diversity, fire evidence, importance value index, species composition, BRUNAS

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Abstract

Humid tropical forests are increasingly exposed to fire, yet local diversity, stand structure, and species composition may respond differently. We compared tree communities in lower and upper sectors of a university reserve near Tingo María, Peru, using 27 rectangular 500 m² sampling units (13 lower, 14 upper). The upper sector showed field evidence of fire, although fire history was confounded with elevation and no pre-fire inventory was available. We assessed alpha and beta diversity, diameter and height structure, and species and family importance values at the sampling-unit level. Species composition differed robustly between sectors for presence-absence and abundance data (PERMANOVA, p-value < 0.001), whereas multivariate dispersion did not. After false-discovery-rate correction, alpha-diversity and structural variables showed no confirmed differences. Nevertheless, medium-to-large effect sizes indicated trends toward lower mean height and emergent-tree representation, and larger crown diameter and understory representation, in the upper sector; these trends were not confirmed at this sample size. Dominance shifted: upper-sector importance was density-driven for Senefeldera inclinata, whereas lower-sector importance was basal-area-driven for Cedrelinga cateniformis. The data therefore demonstrate taxonomic turnover but cannot attribute sector differences specifically to fire rather than elevation-associated conditions. Repeated integrated monitoring is needed to distinguish these effects.

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