Relationship of Brazil‑nut seed yield to crown morphometric characteristics and competition indexes

Abstract

^{The aim of this work was to evaluate the relationship of seed yield of Brazil-nut native trees to crown morphometric characteristics and competition indexes. The data were collected in 88 sample trees, in natural forests in the South of Roraima State, Brazil, regarding different productivity classes. In each tree, the dendrometric variables, the indexes of morphometry and competition (distance dependent and independent) were measured. The relationships between crown morphometric variables and competition indexes to seed yield were obtained through the Spearman correlation coefficient and Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests. A linear regression analysis, through the stepwise procedure, was used to infer crown relations among morphometric variables and the diameter at breast height. The most productive trees were those with upper canopy positions, wich showed well-formed and longer crowns, and smaller height/diameter relationships. Competition showed nonsignificant effect on seed yield, in adult trees that start to produce fruits only after reaching the upper canopy positions.}