Mid‐ and long‐term ecological changes after enrichment planting with native tree species in Mexican tropical mountain forests

Abstract

Ecological restoration is a viable strategy to recover floristic, structural, and functional attributes of the very vulnerable and widely degraded tropical mountain forests. Most restoration efforts in these highly diverse and narrowly distributed systems involve unassisted forest regeneration or enrichment planting with a small number of species, usually those with commercial value and success evaluated after a few years. We assessed changes in soil attributes, forest composition and structure in four sites with plots under unassisted forest regeneration or enrichment planting. The sites are in the limestone massif of the central highlands of Chiapas (Mexico) and share geological, edaphic and climatic conditions, but differ in level of previous disturbance and the time elapsed since the enrichment planting (16–30 years). No changes in soil variables (contents of C, N, P, and K, cation exchange capacity, and pH) were detected. Total density of juveniles was not consistently related to unassisted forest regeneration or enrichment planting but was highest in the two sites that had severe disturbance level. Influence of enrichment planting on forest regeneration depended on the composition and structure of the surrounding stands, and more so when opportunistic trees like pines and other shade‐intolerant species are available. Yet long‐lived shade‐tolerant species, including oaks, which may have synergistic effects during forest recovery, were well represented in sites with original severe disturbance level.

Impacts of anthropogenic climate change on tropical montane forests: an appraisal of the evidence

“…Thus, understanding the genetic adaptations and environmental influence of seeds and seedlings is crucial for conservation efforts. However, long‐term monitoring is also necessary as some abiotic effects, such as soil properties, may not be noticeable for years (Martínez‐Ramos et al ., 2022). Lastly, new knowledge of diversity patterns and spatial partitioning in various regions (Berrios, Coronado & Marsico, 2022; Morton et al ., 2022) emphasise the importance of traditional biodiversity surveys in TMFs, especially in understudied regions.…”

Conservación de bosques de montaña a través de manejo ecoturístico en San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas México

“…Rancho Nuevo, pese a que tuvo una cobertura forestal visible localmente y por imágenes de satélite, tuvo una condición ecológica de 0.3, el cual es un valor bajo y sugiere que el bosque tiene poca diversidad y recibe perturbación antropogénica, lo que favorece la dominancia de Pinus (González-Espinosa y Ramírez-Marcial, 2014;Martínez-Ramos et al, 2022). El problema de los pinares inducidos es que tienen suelos más compactados, son menos fértiles y con una menor biomasa microbiana, además, presentan una menor riqueza de especies y estructuras verticales más simples (Galindo-Jaimes et al, 2002); por lo que el grado de pinarización de Rancho Nuevo puede ser impedimento para establecimiento de otras especies de los bosques de montaña de Los Altos de Chiapas.…”