INVASÃO E MANEJO DE Pinus taeda EM CAMPOS DE ALTITUDE DO PARQUE ESTADUAL DO PICO PARANÁ, PARANÁ, BRASIL

Invasion and managment of Pinus taeda in mountain t op grasslands of Pico Parana State Park, Parana, Brazil. Invasive alien species are introduced from other ec osystems and establish, producing viable descendency that spread for significant distances f rom the mother plants, potentially cause damage to the environment. The aim of the current study is to eva luate the first responses of the invasion process a nd the results of Pinus taeda control on three mountain areas in the Pico Parana State Park, Southern Brazil. The control was conducted mechanically by felling adult trees and pulling out seedlings. The first respons es were measured ten months after felling, measuring plant coverage and species richness. Results indicat e that the population of invasive pines in these area s is around 36 years old, growing at a slower rate when compared to the average growth in other habitats, t hat the pine trees impact the native vegetation by producing lower coverage and finally, that after fe lling the pine trees the native vegetation showed l ower richness. The control method had a cost of R$ 199,0 0 (about US$ 100) per hectare. Conclusions are that high mountain grasslands are susceptible habitats f or biological invasion by pine trees and that recur rent work needs to be done for more consistent elucidati ons.