Relationships between structure of the tree component and environmental variables in a subtropical seasonal forest in the upper Uruguay River valley, Brazil

This study aimed to analyze relationships among the structure of the tree component, edaphic variables and canopy discontinuity along a toposequence in a seasonal upland (hillside) forest in southern Brazil. Soil and vegetation were sampled in 25 plots of 20 × 20 m each. We described the vegetation in terms of structure, richness and diversity, as well as by species distribution patterns. We evaluated canopy continuity, determined sloping and calculated spatial coordinates. We applied partial canonical correspondence analysis (pCCA) to determine whether species distribution correlated with en...