Resprouts from slash-and-burn Ribociclib clinical trial events enjoy several advantages when competing against most plants starting from seed (Kammesheidt, 1999). The BN resprouts possess a deep and well-developed root system that favors water and nutrient intake (Kainer et al., 1998). Their above-ground growth in full-light conditions helps them cope with the dense and entangled understory of early forest succession. This ability to resprout renders the tree particularly resilient to SC disturbances. A good

indication of the BN tree’s resprouting capability was the ratio of individuals with resprouted versus uncut stems. This ratio was almost four times higher (3.7:1) in sites that had previously experienced two or more slash-and-burn cycles. Most resprouts exhibited selleck compound multiple stems, and the number

of living shoots increased with the number of times that the resprouts survived the SC events (Fig. 2c). Nevertheless, as observed by Kammesheidt (1998) for many species in fallows exposed to SC, the abundance of stems is later reduced by self-thinning. The importance of resprouting as a demographic process depends on the frequency of severe disturbances, the probability that the species will resprout after them, and the rates of survival, growth and maturity of the resprouts (Paciorek et al., 2000). The only reference that we found regarding the maturity of resprouted BN trees reported anecdotal information from forest dwellers (Baider, 2000), who mentioned that resprouted trees die before they reach reproductive

age. Our findings contradict this opinion because the majority of individuals present in fallows assigned to protection were resprouted trees. Although we did not collect data to address this question, the fact that resprouted multi-stem adults are owned and protected by extractivists is a good indication of their productivity. Adult BN trees have very large crowns. Because many mature trees cannot coexist in the Acesulfame Potassium limited space available, the abundance of seedlings and saplings will ultimately be reduced in number through intraspecific competition. Considerations of this sort allow us to deduce a practical limit for the regeneration density increase and, consequently, a sufficient number of SC cycles after which the BN accumulation becomes redundant. In contrast, another landholder choice having decisive impact is the conversion of crops or fallows into pasture. Once this change has taken place, the development of previously established regeneration is no longer feasible, and that particular site will lose its potential to contribute a high-density BN stand.