The objective was to evaluate the influence of fire in a forest fragment through litter biomass analysis, regeneration of Cecropia sp., and canopy openness. Two treatments were established, one of them corresponding to an area affected by fire (T1) and the other not affected by fire (T2), both areas encompassing 0.3 ha of forest. Samples were collected in 20 different sites in each treatment, weighed and placed in an oven at 70 °C to constant weight. To quantify Cecropia sp. regeneration a census was performed in both areas. Hemispheric images collected at 5 different points in each area were used to analyze canopy openness. Data were analyzed through analysis of variance (ANOVA) and a significant difference between treatments was detected. The area affected by fire had higher canopy openness, greater amount of Cecropia sp., and lower litter biomass when compared with the area that was not affected by fire. This indicates that fire interfered with the structure and composition of the burned forest.

The soil seed bank is one of the most important ecological indicators to evaluate and monitor the ecological restoration process of plant communities. We aimed to evaluate the influence of ecological restoration techniques on the plant community diversity and composition and functional group composition of the soil seed bank in two bauxite mining areas under compensatory restoration, Southeast Brazil. 30 soil samples were collected in each area (Area_A – Forest restoration by planting seedlings and nucleation techniques and Area_B – just restoration by planting seedlings). The samples were transported to a shade house and evaluated for six months, where germinated individuals were counted and identified weekly. The results indicated that the soil seed banks of the two areas are floristically similar (with a predominance of pioneer, herbaceous and native origin species), which show a higher natural regeneration potential. However, the higher species richness and abundance of zoochoric individuals in Area_A demonstrate that nucleation techniques, such as topsoil transposition and direct seeding were efficient to increase the recovery potential re-establishment. In the early successional stages, restoration techniques are more determinant in the functional group composition than in the floristic composition of the soil seed bank.