Objective:

To analyze the diversity of woody species and their relationship with environmental variables in post-mining forests of the Biogeographic Chocó.

Materials and methods:

Ten sampling units of 0.25 ha were established in post-mining forests of 15 and 35 years of recovery (five in each forest). Woody vegetation with DBH ≥ 5 cm was characterized. Soil samples were taken, and species richness was graphically represented in species area, and individual species curves. The species abundance distribution (SAD) was analyzed. The ordering was carried out using the Resource Description and Access (RDA) cataloging and, finally, the variance partition was carried out, selecting the soil matrix (specifically phosphorus - P and potassium - K content) and spatial matrix (PCNM 2) as variables.

Results:

It was observed that 15 years old post-mining forests were more diverse than 35-years old post-mining forests. The abundance of species was distributed in a log-normal manner and the ordering allowed the identification of four groups. One of the groups was explained by the location of the plots (spatial variable) and three by environmental variables (P and K content). The variance partition allowed identifying that the differences in floristic composition of the 15- and 35-years-old post-mining forests are mostly explained by environmental variables with 40%, while at the spatial level the variation is null.

Conclusion:

The floristic variability of the sampled sites is related to the type and intensity of mining intervention, soil nutrients and, to some extent, to the location of arboreal individuals.

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