Abstract

CASTRUITA ESPARZA, Luis Ubaldo et al. The impact the Ips confusus Wood & Bright, 1992 on the radial growth of Pinus cembroides Zucc. Rev. mex. de cienc. forestales [online]. 2024, vol.15, n.82, pp.4-28.  Epub Apr 26, 2024. ISSN 2007-1132.  https://doi.org/10.29298/rmcf.v15i82.1419.

Forest pests are one of the primary disturbance factors in the temperate forests of Mexico. Ips confusus attacks Pinus cembroides trees, especially after intense droughts. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of I. confusus on the annual radial growth of a P. cembroides forest in the Carichí municipality, state of Chihuahua, México. Additionally, the influence of climatic variables was determined. Increment cores were extracted from both attacked (AA) and non-attacked P. cembroides trees (ANA). A total of 53 increment cores were dated, spanning from 1776 to 2012 (AA=24 and ANA=29). Starting from 1998, differential basal area growth was observed between AA and ANA. By the time of tree mortality in 2012, a difference of over 100 % was recorded (AA=8.03±1.53 cm2 year⁻¹, and ANA=17.7±1.74 cm2 year⁻¹, p<0.001). However, ANA exhibited greater sensitivity to climatic variables than AA, displaying increased synchrony in recent years. At the canopy level, a correlation was found between Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI, r=0.51, p<0.05) and ANA, exclusively. Nonetheless, AA demonstrated a high sensitivity to drought conditions, particularly with the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI, r=0.53, p<0.05). This suggests that prior drought conditions (up to 10 years) are linked to reduced growth in P. cembroides, predisposing them to forest pest infestations.

Keywords : Chihuahua; dendroecology; NDVI; PDSI; forest pests; drought.

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