Brazil nut (Bertholletia excelsa Bonpl.) is a major non-timber forest product in the Amazon, supporting extractivist communities in Brazil, Bolivia, and Peru and contribute to forest conservation. Unlike other extractive products, Brazil nut production has not declined under commercial use and is recognized for its socioeconomic and environmental importance. Precision agriculture has been transformed by the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and artificial intelligence (AI), which enable monitoring efficiency and yield estimation in several crops, including the Brazil nut. This study assessed the potential of using UAV-based imagery combined with YOLOv8 object detection model to identify and quantify Brazil nut fruits in a native forest fragment in eastern Acre, Brazil. A UAV was used to capture canopy images of 20 trees with varying diameters at breast height. Images were manually annotated and used to train the YOLOv8 with an 80/20 split for training and validation/testing. Model performance was evaluated using precision, recall, F1-score, and mean Average Precision (mAP). The model achieved recall above 90%, with an F1-score of 0.88, despite challenges from canopy complexity and partial occlusion. These results indicate that UAV-based imagery combined with AI detection provides an approach for estimating Brazil nut yield, reducing manual effort and improving market strategies for extractivist communities. This technology supports sustainable forest management and socioeconomic development in the Amazon.

The composition and dynamics of plant communities are determined by the survival, dispersal and persistence of seeds in the soil, some of the fundamental aspects for understanding plant biology, among which seed dormancy is of particular importance. The aim of this work was to find out whether seed dormancy is affected by certain substrates in order to improve the production of Tabernaemontana heterophylla seedlings. Treatments were carried out with different substrates (T1. Sand, T2. Vegetable clay, T3. Vegetable clay + sand (1:1 ratio), T4. Vermiculite, T5. Cattle manure, T6. Sawdust and T7. Organic compost) in 7 x 4 factorial schemes, the results of which were subjected to an analysis of variance and a comparison of means with the Tukey test at a probability of 5%. The seeds with visible germination structure (hypocotyl) showed an apical meristem in a dormant stage. The number of normal seedlings did not exceed 25% of the germinated seeds in all treatments, with a high proportion of non-viable seeds observed. In the absence of technical information on overcome dormancy, it is important to use strategies that stimulate germination and subsequent seedling growth. The slow germination combined with the presence of dormancy in the hypocotyledon were factors that negatively affected the propagation of the species studied.

The analysis of Tabernaemontana heterophylla seeds entails morphological characterization and the study of genetic variability between batches. This knowledge is fundamental for evolutionary biology and agronomic and conservation practices. Crop productivity, species preservation, reforestation, and post-harvest processing can all benefit from understanding and considering seed size. This work aimed to determine the multidimensional characteristics and mass of the seeds using multivariate cluster analysis. We investigated multidimensional characteristics by measuring the dimensions and mass of the seeds and computing their physical attributes. Several statistical measures were used to assess the morphometric data, including the mean, amplitude, coefficient of variation, relative frequency, arithmetic mean, standard deviation, and confidence interval. In addition, grouping patterns and inter-variable dependencies were examined by multivariate cluster analysis using Ward’s method. The results revealed significant variability in seed dimensions, indicating morphological unevenness in the seeds of this species. Euclidean distance analysis identified the formation of subclusters, implying distinct groupings based on seed size and mass. The finding highlights the significance of segregating lots with similar physical characteristics and defining representative properties for management practices. These variations reflect the genetic diversity required for adaptability and ecological resilience, ensuring forest ecosystems’ survival and proper functioning. Alternatively, classifying and standardizing seed lots based on these physical traits can optimize post-harvest processing and increase agronomic productivity.

Os veículos aéreos não tripulados (VANTs), popularmente conhecidos como drones, tem ganhado destaque no campo científico. Este estudo tem como propósito explorar a trajetória histórica desses dispositivos, concentrando-se em suas aplicações específicas em estudos florestais. Este estudo adotou uma metodologia dedutiva exploratória, utilizando pesquisa bibliográfica para revisar estudos florestais que utilizam drones. A análise da literatura priorizou pesquisas recentes, com palavras-chave como "tecnologia remotamente pilotada em estudos florestais". Utilizando bancos de dados científicos, foram identificados artigos de 2015 a 2023, destacando avanços tecnológicos, métodos de coleta de dados e desafios na aplicação de drones em estudos florestais. As informações extraídas abordaram sistemas, uso nas ciências florestais e vantagens/desvantagens. O estudo revelou resultados promissores no uso de drones em estudos florestais. As aplicações abrangem monitoramento da restauração florestal, avaliação de plantios de eucalipto com alta precisão, obtenção de altura de árvores em florestas de coníferas com custo inferior, estimativa eficaz de combustíveis e estrutura florestal, comparação precisa de modelos de altimetria em áreas com vegetação esparsa, inventário de açaizeiros superando a contagem a olho nu, eficiência no monitoramento agrícola e florestal, mapeamento de florestas antigas de faias por meio de levantamentos LiDAR, e uma ampla gama de aplicações práticas de sistemas não tripulados na silvicultura. As vantagens dos drones incluem redução de custos, flexibilidade temporal e execução em condições adversas, enquanto as limitações envolvem tempo de voo e dependência de luz solar, mas o estudo destaca sua eficiência e promissora contribuição para pesquisas florestais.

Timber forest management is an important activity in Acre, but in the eastern portion of the state the forests present a high density of bamboo culms (Guadua spp.), which leads to lower diversity, high tree mortality, and reduced biomass and carbon accumulation. This study analyzed and compared the population structure of timber species across three forest typologies: (1) areas without bamboo dominance, (2) with dominance, and (3) post-mortality of bamboo (Guadua spp.) in the southwestern Amazon. In the study area, three distinct forest typologies were identified: non-dominance, dominance, and post-mortality of Guadua spp. In each typology, three 0.5-ha plots were installed, and commercial individuals with DBH ≥ 10 cm were recorded. Dendrometric parameters (basal area, basal area per hectare, and over-bark stand volume) and phytosociological metrics (relative density, relative dominance, relative frequency, and importance value) were assessed. In areas without bamboo dominance, basal area, volume, and density of commercial species were significantly higher than in areas where bamboo was present or had died. In the same typology, early secondary and climax species showed high importance values, whereas in the other typologies a reduction in the importance of these species was observed. The changes caused by bamboo, especially after its mortality, can negatively affect the population structure and dynamics of timber species, compromising sustainable forest management.

As áreas florestais na Amazônia apresentam alta diversidade de espécies frutíferas comestíveis. Apesar de pouco difundidas na culinária e nos mercados regional e nacional, é importante identificar e estudar essas espécies tendo em vista a promoção da soberania alimentar e a valoração das florestas remanescentes. Este trabalho objetivou verificar a ocorrência de espécies frutíferas comestíveis nativas em áreas florestais de três propriedades rurais no município de Mâncio Lima, no extremo oeste do estado do Acre. Em cada propriedade foram percorridas trilhas de 6 km de extensão, catalogando-se, com o auxílio de um parataxonomista, as espécies frutíferas localizadas até 10 m do eixo das trilhas. Foram identificadas 60 espécies frutíferas de 42 gêneros e 23 famílias botânicas. As famílias mais diversificadas foram Arecaceae (11 spp.), Malvaceae (7 spp.) e Annonaceae (5 spp.). Apesar do elevado número de espécies, sua exploração comercial é limitada ou inexistente, mesmo no mercado local da cidade de Mâncio Lima.