Resumen

RAMIREZ-ANGULO, Hirma; ABLAN, Magdiel; TORRES-LEZAMA, Armando  y  ACEVEDO, Miguel F. SIMULATION OF A TROPICAL FOREST IN THE WESTERN PLAINS OF VENEZUELA. INCI [online]. 2006, vol.31, n.2, pp.101-109. ISSN 0378-1844.

Summary Data from permanent plots in a seasonal forest in the western plains of Venezuela were used to establish the parameters for FACET, a model based on individual trees and sensitive to topographical conditions of the terrain. Due to the large number of species, these were grouped according to shade tolerance (tolerant, intermediate and intolerant) and their maximum height (large, medium and small). Palm species were considered as a separate group. Forest dynamics was simulated for each physiographic position (banco, higher elevation areas formed by old river banks, sub-banco, areas of intermediate elevation and bajío, flooded depressions). Simulation results for 210 years are similar to observed values in banco and sub-banco but not in bajío. After 500 years of simulation, large-tolerant species dominate in bancos, accumulating an index of value (IV) of 27.28 followed by palms with IV= 18.86; similar results are obtained in sub-banco where large-tolerant species dominate with IV= 26.78 and palms accumulate 20.27; which corresponds to the expected composition for a non-perturbed forest. In bajío, large-tolerant species also dominate with IV= 28.74 but are followed by large-intermediate species with 20.27. In conclusion, the FACET model has a great potential to predict the dynamics of tropical forests, except in the bajíos or flooded depressions with drainage problems. Therefore, it is necessary to modify the water balance routine of FACET to achieve a better representation of forest dynamics at these flooded sites.

Palabras clave : Caparo; Dinámica Forestal; FACET; Grupos Funcionales; Modelo de Claros.