Crecimiento en diámetro de tres especies arbóreas en una selva secundaria de Quintana Roo, México

Abstract

Bursera simaruba , Lysiloma latisiliquum and Piscidia piscipula are three species of the semi-evergreen tropical forests of Quintana Roo that are valued for their wood. To continue encouraging their use and conservation, as well as their ecological knowledge, it is necessary to determine the annual growth rate and the factors that modulate it. In the present study, the diameter growth of B. simaruba , L. latisiliquum and P. piscipula was measured in a semi-evergreen secondary tropical forest of the Andres Quintana Roo ejido, Quintana Roo. 73 trees were categorized into five diameter intervals and measured every two months using dendrometric bands. The study ran from January 2011 to May 2012. The increases were correlated with precipitation, average air temperature and local relative humidity. The increases were adjusted to a third-order polynomial model. L. latisiliquum had the highest annual average growth rate (0.18 cm), followed by P. piscipula (0.10 cm) and B. simaruba (0.06 cm). The diametric categories of the three species showed significant differences in their increments, those of 20 cm in general grew more than the rest. The increases correlated significantly (p <0.01) with the temperature in the three species, precipitation and relative humidity did not have a marked influence on the thickening of the bole. The present investigation showed three different patterns of growth, distinguishing temperature as an influencing factor in the increase in diameter.