Abundancia y distribucion del genero Pinus en Capulalpam de Mendez, Sierra Juarez, Oaxaca
In this study, environmental factors that determine the abundance and distribution of commercial pine species in the municipality of Capulalpam de Mendez, Oaxaca, were analyzed. We used information pertaining to tree species abundance in 636 sites established in harvesting areas from the municipal forest inventory conducted in 2013 for the Management Plan 2015 2022, as well as 354 additional sites located in areas with different land use. Data of the spatial distribution and ecological niche analysis of the species were obtained, for which nine climatic and four geographic variables were used. Ten species of pine were recorded, of which Pinus patula showed the highest abundance and P. chiapensis the lowest. Canonical Correspondence Analysis indicated that most of the pine species are more highly associated with the climatic variables than with geographic variables, except for that of latitude. Niche analysis showed that species of the genus Pinus are highly marginal and of low tolerance to processes of environmental change. Minimal alterations to their habitat could restrict or reduce their abundance and distribution, with P. chiapensis being the least tolerant species and P. patula the species that presented the broadest niche.