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Lianas compete with trees for light, nutrients and space, reducing timber yields in tropical forests, however little is known about the effectiveness of liana cutting and thinning to accelerate tree growth. In this study, we tested whether liana cutting and thinning increase diameter growth of commercial trees, potentially reducing cutting cycles. The effects of liana cutting and thinning over the growth of 56 commercial tree species in the Brazilian Amazon were analyzed. The experimental area consists of 700 ha, distributed in 14 work units. Of the total area, 600 ha were logged in 2004 and 100 ha were left unlogged. In the logged area, liana cutting and thinning by girdling trees were carried out in 2005, one year after logging. Analyses included repeated measures ANOVA, the non-parametric Kruskall-Wallis test (p < .05), and after significance, the Dunn test (p < .05). There was a significant effect (p = .001) on periodic annual increment in DBH (PAIDBH) of the 56 species group both of the period and of the experimental treatments. All experimental treatments showed higher PAIDBH, two years after the application of silvicultural treatments. Treatment 1 (logging + liana cutting + thinning) showed the highest PAIDBH, one year (0.48 cm year−1), two years (0.62 cm year−1), and four years (0.52 cm year−1) after the application of silvicultural treatments, significantly differing from the other treatments (p = .001). Liana cutting and thinning to release crowns applied alone or in combination after logging, increased trees PAIDBH, suggesting the feasibility of shorter cutting cycles. However, studies on ecological aspects and economic viability are needed.
Dionísio et al. (Sun,) studied this question.