ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes 10 years of structural and compositional changes in different succession forest stages that range from young to old mature forests, where secondary forests have established on old grasslands and scrublands. It describes floristic trends and relationships between different succession forest stages and analyzes the rates of change in structural and demographic parameters, such as mortality, recruitment, composition, and basal area of the main tree species. The chapter discusses the management implications of the observed patterns and processes, in particular, in relation to the demography of the most abundant species. It argues that the secondary forests observed correspond to succession stages in which pioneer species will be replaced by non-pioneers or climax tree species, tending to reach mature phases. The chapter also describes long-term succession and demographic trends in subtropical Argentinean upper-montage forests. Northwest Argentina’s upper-montage forests occur in a mosaic of different physiognomies, which, in part, reflect different stages of post grazing forest succession.
