Objectives:

to carry out the structural analysis of fragments of tropical dry forest found in the Strategic Ecoregion of La Tatacoa and its area of influence in the south of the department of Tolima, and to detail the vertical, horizontal and total structure patterns to generate knowledge that allows enriching the few existing studies and contribute to the sustainable use, conservation and restoration of the dry forests of the inter-Andean valley of Magdalena.

Methodology:

Twelve forest relicts were selected and a plot of ¼ ha was established in each one. They were measured and trees with DBH ≥ 5 cm were identified characterizing the horizontal structure by means of the Importance Value Index (IVI) and mixing ratio. Vegetation profiles and Ogawa scatter diagrams were made; diametric distributions and basal area were calculated.

Results:

It was found that forests tend to be homogeneous, with dominance of species such as Curatella americana, Astronium graveolens, Anacardium excelsum, Trichilia sp, Anadenanthera peregrina, Guazuma ulmifolia and Tabebuia crhysantha. The vertical structure showed two tendencies, one of low forests on flat to undulated areas, and another with higher forests in steep areas. Most forests have three arboreal strata and few emerging trees. The diameter distribution tends to have an exponential model structure in reversed J shape curve with the exception of two forests. The basal area per hectare ranged from 3 to 23 m2. Forests have similar patterns to forest in northern Tolima, the Atlantic coast and other neotropical regions such as Bolivia and Peru.

Conclusions:

these forests have intermediate successional stages and, although they are heavily intervened, still have an important potential for forest biodiversity and could be considered as reference ecosystems for ecological restoration processes in the Andean valleys of the Magdalena River.

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