The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of tree species with multiple use potential, in the local environmental conditions of the western Brazilian Amazon, in order to recommend these species as components of agroforestry systems and for reclamation of degraded areas. The experiment was established at the Experimental Station of Embrapa Acre, with 12 native and introduced species, using 1.5 by 1.5 m spacing between rows and plants. The experimental design was a randomized complete block, with four replications and five plants in each replication. The evaluations at four and a half years after planting showed that: a) all species presented survival indexes above 80%, with exception of Cedrela odorata (75%), Aspidosperma vargasii (65%) and Spondias lutea (65%); b) the mean annual increment in total height was greater in Acacia mangium (2.91 m) and Acacia pollyphylla (2.66 m), followed by Leucaena leucocephala, Calycophyllum spruceanum and Gliricidia sepium, with means of 2.38 m, 1.56 m and 1.40 m, respectively; c) the mean annual increment in basal diameter was greater in Acacia mangium (4.98 cm) and Acacia pollyphylla (3.92 cm), followed by E. fusca (3.06 cm), Spondias lutea (2.37 cm), Erythrina poeppigiana (2.17 cm) and E. berteroana (2.12 cm); d) the annual increment in tree crown diameter was greater in A. pollyphylla (2.50 m), G. sepium (1.03 m), Torresea acreana (0.98 m) and E. fusca (0.87 m). These results suggest good adaptation of the introduced species, which presented development superior to most of the native species, especially in terms of capacity for establishment and initial growth.
agroforestry systems; amazon; Brazil; degraded areas; multipurpose trees