Habitat management and restoration in buffer zones of national parks is critical
for maintaining ecosystem services and biological connectivity in and around the
parks’ core protected areas. Vegetation succession in abandoned plantations
in buffer zones may take different paths that reach climax ecosystems in
more or less time depending on the conditions of initial succession, thus
enhancing or hindering biological connectivity and ecosystem services. This
study documents the dominance of tree ferns in the initial stages of vegetation
succession on abandoned pineapple plantations on the Andean foothills around
Manu National Park, Peru, and discusses the role it may have on ecosystem
restoration. Four years after abandonment, tree fern gametophytes grow under
the shade of pineapple plants and melastomes. After 6-10 years of succession,
the vegetation is dominated by a tree fern community composed of at least eight
species, of which the most common are by far Cyathea delgadii and Cyathea
microdonta. Cyathea microdonta functions as a short-lived pioneer, reaching its
peak of live stem density in 6 to10 years and dying off in older plots. Cyathea
delgadii, on the other hand, continues to grow and persists beyond 10 years
of succession. Areas adjacent to abandoned pineapple fields have few tree
ferns and higher tree species diversity, suggesting that pineapple agriculture
and the resulting tree fern community may be a longer pathway to reach climax
vegetation stages than other types of plantation.
