XVI International Botanical Congess

We established a series of 13 demographic plots in fragments and continuous forest in Brazilian Amazon. We document a pattern of reduced density of _Heliconia_ in fragments, with one ha fragments having one-half the density of 10 ha fragments. Density is highest in continuous forest sites, with an average density almost 3 times the that of one ha fragments. This trend masks extensive demographic variation, however. While some continuous forest sites have low density, others have extremely high density. Continuous forest populations are also more variable in terms of the proportion of individuals present in each demographic category. A preliminary demographic model for the population dynamics of this species is presented.