The aguajales represent one of the ecosystems with the highest environmental and socioeconomic value in the Loreto region, where the predominant species is Mauritia flexuosa L.f. "aguaje". The growing demand for aguaje fruits in Amazonian cities has been generating an impact on the aguajales because of the destructive methods to harvest the fruit. The objective of the research was to determine the impact of the cutting of female palms in the floristic composition, diversity and functional traits of natural regeneration in aguajales. Five permanent plots of 0.5 ha were evaluated in aguajales in different stages of degradation, four plots in the Ucayali basin and one plot in the Yanayacu Pucate basin. The results show that the floristic composition, diversity and functional traits are changing along a gradient of degradation. In the floristic composition, the abundance of natural regenerat...

The degradation of Amazonian landscapes due to extensive cattle ranching is a widely recognized problem, but restoration actions are still insufficient, partly due to the limited understanding of the processes that drive the recovery of their ecological integrity. This study evaluated the natural recovery of post-grazing secondary forests in an area near Iquitos (Peruvian Amazon), analyzing ecological integrity through species composition and diversity, recruitment, and basal area, in relation to land use intensity and the structure of the surrounding landscape. Ecological indicators of all trees and palms with a diameter at breast height (DBH) ≥ 3 cm were recorded in ten 500 m² plots with ages between 17 and 38 years of secondary succession. The results revealed low values of species richness (17-28 species) and basal area (0.56-1.47 m²). The analysis of these indicators showed hete...