Study area
The Forest Sciences Experimental Station of Itatinga (Estação
Experimental de Ciências Florestais de Itatinga - EECFI) is located in
the municipality of Itatinga, São Paulo, Brazil, at an average altitude
of 850 meters, occupying a total area of 2,118 hectares (Gonçalves et
al., 2012). The climate in the region is classified as Cwa, humid
temperate with dry winters and hot summers, according to Köppen’s
classification, with an average annual temperature of 19.4 °C and
average annual precipitation of 1,319 mm (Alvares, Stape, Sentelhas,
Gonçalves, & Sparovek, 2013).
Soil type of catchments are Hapludox Typic and Rhodic, with texture
varying from sandy loam to sandy clay loam, respectively (Gonçalves et
al., 2012), with the same underlying geology (Sandstone from sedimentary
rocks). The area is located in a transition region between the Cerrado
and the Atlantic Forest, with fragments of semi-decidual seasonal forest
and Cerrado latu sensu subjected to various levels of degradation
(Sartori, Poggiani, & Engel, 2002).