Abstract

MARTINEZ-RIVAS, José Alexis; ACOSTA-HERNANDEZ, Andrea Cecilia; VIVAR-VIVAR, Eduardo Daniel  and  SILVA-AVILA, Nancy. Drought resilience of Abies durangensis Martínez in southwestern Durango using dendroecological proxies. Polibotánica [online]. 2025, n.59, pp.97-115.  Epub Apr 29, 2025. ISSN 1405-2768.  https://doi.org/10.18387/polibotanica.59.6.

Forest ecosystems are essential for carbon capture and storage, as well as biodiversity conservation, but they face pressures from human activities and natural processes that can disrupt their structure and growth. This study examined the radial growth response of Abies durangensis Martínez to climate conditions and evaluated its

drought resilience in the Sierra Madre Occidental of Durango, Mexico, during the period 1900-2022. We analyzed 42 growth cores from 21 trees, studying annual growth rings to correlate climatic and drought data with radial growth. Additionally, resilience indices were calculated, which measure the tree’s ability to recover after stress events, such as droughts, by analyzing growth before, during, and after the event. Our results revealed a positive correlation between growth and precipitation at the beginning of the growing season (March of the following year, Coefficient = 0.206, p < 0.05). However, maximum temperatures (June of the previous year; Coefficient = -0.170, p < 0.05) and minimum temperatures (June of the previous year; Coefficient = -0.199, p < 0.05), along with prolonged droughts, negatively impacted radial growth. Despite the sensitivity of radial growth to adverse climatic conditions, resilience indices showed moderate resistance and high resilience following drought events. While these conditions may be part of the species’ natural dynamics, their negative impact suggests that the species could be reaching critical adaptation limits, posing a risk to its long-term sustainability. Nonetheless, A. durangensis demonstrates a notable capacity for adaptation to future climatic variations, according to our findings.

Keywords : Radial growth; Resilience; Droughts; Climate adaptation; Climate sensitivity.

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