The objectives of this work were: (1) to investigate the efficiency, advantages and disadvantages of five methodologies to evaluate canopy structure (eco-unit interpretation, spherical densiometer, hemispheric photography with 8 mm lens and digital photography with 32 mm lens) and the amount of light crossing it (using light meter and hemispheric photography with 8 mm lens) and (2) to compare the canopy structure of a reforestation area and a semideciduous forest fragment in northern Paraná. The classification of forest mosaic in eco-units is a fast and cheap methodology, but it lacks repeatability. Densiometer provides fast and reliable measurements, while light meter and 32 mm lens present data with little precision, being thus sensitive to small variations in the canopy; 8 mm lens is a fast and high precision methodology but expensive. No significant difference was found in the canopy cover estimates between densiometer and the 8 mm lens photography in either of the two sites, while 32 mm lens photography showed significantly different results and great mena variation, due to high sensitivity to the small alterations in the canopy. The luminosity evaluation showed significantly different light meter and 8 mm lens photography. All the methodologies showed significant differences between the mature forest and the reforestation area.
Canopy cover; densiometer and eco-units
