Secondary forests are increasing in area in the tropics, and in the Amazon alone they occupy 23% of deforested areas. These forests are repositories of biodiversity, playing an important role in ecosystem services, and contributing to the livelihoods of local populations. Natural regeneration is an important strategy for the recovery of native Brazilian vegetation, for example, the Forest Code, the National Plan for the Recovery of Native Vegetation (PLANAVEG in portuguese) and the international commitments of forest restoration undertaken by the country. This study describes the natural recovery of plant species diversity in secondary forests of different ages in the Southeast of Pará, Eastern Amazonia. A database of structural and floristic characteristics, collected in 2014 and 2015, was used for 20 fragments of secondary forest in the municipalities of Marabá, Parauapebas, Eldorado dos Carajás and Canaã dos Carajás. The vegetation sampling followed the methodology applied by the Sustainable Amazon Network. In each forest fragment, a transect of 10 x 250 m or 20 x 125 m (0.25 ha) was delimited, subdivided into 25 plots of 10 x 10 m, where the upper stratum (DAP ≥ 10 cm) was sampled. The lower stratum (DAP <10 cm) was sampled in five 5 x 20 m subplots nested in the transect. The phytosociological parameters were calculated using the Fitopac 2.1 software. The dominance pattern was evaluated through species ranking. The similarity among transects was evaluated using non-metric multidimensional scaling in the PCORd 5.15. The phytosociological parameters between two age classes were compared using Anova. Indicator Species Analysis (IndVal) was performed for each class using the R Program. We found 282 species, 61 families and 5509 individuals in the 20 study transects. The natural recovery of species diversity occurs rapidly in the first 10 years of ecological succession. But the recovery trajectory was not linear and was marked by a stabilization of the parameters of structure and diversity between 10 and 20 years. Species diversity was correlated with basal area, although the relationship was not linear. Regeneration was not accompanied by convergence of floristic composition between sites of similar age. However, the similarity in species composition was higher among the nearest sites, suggesting spatial autocorrelation resulting from biotic or environmental processes. The studied forests were separated into two age classes with some species, mainly of the family Fabaceae, indicating the sites in more advanced stages of regeneration. The recovery of plant diversity in the first 20 years of succession provides evidence of high forest resilience in the study region. The findings of this study on the natural regeneration potential of the forests in Southeastern Pará is important to guide the management and conservation strategies underway in the Amazon.
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