Pastures ranged in age from 25 to 53 years prior to plantation forest establishment, and pasture sites sampled in this study were 54–59 years old. Forest stands sampled in this study were on average 2.3 hectares and range from 0.2 to 5.5 ha in size. The native tree species in this ecosystem and the remaining ‘‘reference’’ forest on the experimental site included: Aspidosperma spp. (Apocynaceae), Hymenaeacourbaril (Fabaceae), Astronium graveolens (Anacardiaceae), Ocotea spp. (Lauraceae), and Cariniana spp. (Lecythidaceae)