Forest Structure of Pinus ayacahuite in Southern Mexico

Spatial structure refers to the horizontal and vertical arrangement of individual trees, and the most accurate way to describe it within a community is to characterize tree strata in terms of their dimensions. The aim of this study was to determine the horizontal and vertical structure of pure stands of Pinus ayacahuite Ehrenb. ex Schltdl., in forests of southern Mexico. Forest measurement data from 24 sample plots were used. For analysis of the horizontal structure, diameters within a range of 0.20 cm to 77 cm were used, while for the vertical structure, heights were from 0.09 m to 40.9 m. Non-parametric histograms and Kernel density methods were used in the analysis, and Fisher and Marron multimodality tests were performed. The homogeneity of the forest stands was determined by the coefficient of homogeneity, and the vertical and horizontal structures were described using the stratification proposed by Pretzsch. The results indicate that the horizontal structure corresponds to a diameter distribution with a reversed "J" shape in 79.2% of the sample plots, while 91.8% of the sites were classified as irregular with coefficients of homogeneity of 1.0 to 3.0. In the vertical structure, it was observed that the lower stratum predominated in 75% of the plots, while 25% had a higher concentration of individuals in the middle stratum. The upper stratum had accumulation percentages ranging from 1.3% to 33.3% but did not predominate in any of the plots. According to the multimodality tests, 50% of the plots present multimodality in the horizontal structure, while in the vertical structure this condition is present in 38% of the plots. Knowledge of the spatial structure of Pinus ayacahuite forest stands is essential to define silvicultural strategies that ensure the sustainable functioning of the ecosystem in terms of yield continuity and conservation.