Dominancia ecológica y estructura sucesional de un área de bosque secundario en el cantón Carlos Julio Arosemena Tola, Ecuador

Abstract

Secondary forests promote the recovery of biodiversity and ecosystem services in human-modified landscapes. This study aimed to characterize the ecological dominance and successional structure of the tree component in a secondary forest in Carlos Julio Arosemena Tola Canton, Ecuador. An observational, cross-sectional design was applied in a forest that had regenerated for approximately ten years following the abandonment of grazing. Three 10 × 100 m transects were established, and all individuals with a diameter at breast height (DBH) ≥10 cm were censused. Floristic composition, diversity, importance value index, diameter structure, and vertical stratification were analyzed. Within the 0.3 ha sampling area, 114 individuals belonging to 18 taxa and 16 families were recorded, representing a density of 380 individuals ha⁻¹ and a basal area of 16.38 m² ha⁻¹. Piptocoma discolor, Inga spp., and Vochysia spp. accounted for 59.65% of all individuals and 50.09% of the importance value index. The Shannon, Simpson, and Pielou indices were 2.273, 0.852, and 0.787, respectively. Of the recorded trees, 79.82% had a DBH of less than 30 cm, while 76.32% reached heights ≤10 m. These findings characterize an early- to mid-successional secondary forest undergoing active structural recovery, with dominance by pioneer species and spatial heterogeneity among transects