Characterization of forest communities in Mexico: Documentary review

Abstract

The characterization of forest communities consists of knowing the spatial arrangement both vertically and horizontally that the trees present in a place, at a certain time and that determines the integrity and stability of the forest. The objective of this work was to compile and analyze scientific articles, technical reports and bulletins characterized by the structure of communities, as well as their richness and biological diversity. The following databases were used: CONRICYT, SciELO, SCOPUS, JSTOR and LATINDEX, as well as the REDIB and academic Google search engines. The keywords used in the search were "Horizontal structure", "Vertical structure", "Characterization", "Spatial distribution patterns" and "Diametric structure". 109 investigations published between 1980 and 2020 were compiled; 71% were carried out in temperate coniferous and broadleaf forests. The tree stratum was the most studied (72.22%); Most of the studies are descriptive (64.22%) and are mainly related to conservation and forest management. The most used dasometric and environmental variables are: diameter (cm) and height (m), as well as altitude and slope. The most widely used ecological indices were Shannon and Wiener (H ') and the importance value (IVI). It was concluded that the most studied forest communities are the temperate coniferous and broadleaf forests, where the arboreal stratum is studied. The characterization of forest communities has been evolving, integrating new evaluation methods, however, there are some that have been used over time.