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Empirical diversity indices applied to forest communities in different successional stages

Índices empíricos de diversidade aplicados a comunidades florestais em diferentes estágios de sucesão

In this paper we examine the precision of six diversity indices, four of them empirical when including in their formulae climax adaptation numbers. These numbers define the succession position of the plant species in five forest areas in São Paulo State. We simulated hypothetical forests and compared the results with a list of species in the five areas. Low agreement was found among the indices in succession stages. Including the climax adaptation numbers increased precision for only some indices.

diversity indices; climax adaptation numbers; seral stages; tropical forests; Brazil


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