SJA_39-s2_164-172

Introduction

Dry forests are ecosystems with a high level of endemism and have a wide variety of species (Manrique-Ascencio et al., 2025; Howard et al., 2024; Rivas et al., 2020; Sosa et al., 2018; Moonlight et al., 2020; Espinosa et al., 2012). Their main characteristic is their presence in areas with a prolonged dry season (Hasnat and Hossain, 2020) where the clay soils form mudflats during the rainy season that crack in the dry season (Aguirre, 2012). These forests are primarily dominated by species with adaptations to adverse climatic conditions (Preece et al., 2018; Singh and Chaturvedi, 2017; Banda et al., 2016; Brunner et al., 2015; Pennington et al., 2009). One of the most common strategies is deciduousness, where trees shed their leaves to withstand seasonal drought (Allen et al., 2017; Hubbell, 1979).

Despite their ecological importance, dry forests are among the most vulnerable and threatened ecosystems worldwide (Manchego et al., 2017). They face severe degradation due to land-use change, particularly for activities such as extensive cattle ranching and agriculture areas (Quintana et al., 2019) which has significantly impacted biodiversity (Ballesteros et al., 2019). In Ecuador, these forests are found in the provinces of Esmeraldas, Manabí, Guayas, El Oro, and Loja, extending into northwestern Peru along the coastal region west of the Andes (Linares-Palomino, 2010; Aguirre and Geada-Lopez. 2017; Quintana et al., 2017). Despite their vulnerability, they receive less protection and conservation efforts compared to evergreen forests on the Ecuadorian coast (Rivas et al., 2020; Muñoz et al., 2019).

Beyond their biodiversity, dry forests play a crucial role in providing ecosystem services. These include carbon sequestration, soil stabilization, water regulation, and biodiversity conservation (Aguirre-Padilla et al., 2018; Quintana et al., 2019). Additionally, they offer provisioning services by supplying timber, fuelwood, fodder, and non-timber forest products essential for local livelihoods (Aguirre and Erazo, 2017). However, the overexploitation of these resources, coupled with insufficient knowledge about their composition, structure, and ecological functions, can lead to resource scarcity, negatively impacting surrounding communities (Uslar et al., 2004; Aguirre et al., 2018; Palma, 2016; Jiménez et al., 2017).

In this context, vegetation studies provide critical insights into species composition, structure, and endemism, allowing for biodiversity assessments and a better understanding of forest conservation status. Such information is essential for ecosystem management and sustainable planning, ensuring that dry forests continue to deliver key ecological and socio-economic benefits (Quintana et al., 2017; Aguirre, 2013).

Materials and Methods

The study area lies in Los Bajos, a sector of Montecristi, a canton of Manabí, Ecuador, located in the southeastern region of the province. It has a total area of 734.2 km² and has a tropical dry subhumid climate, with rainfall concentrated between January and March. However, due to consistently high temperatures, with an annual average of 24°C, evapotranspiration rates exceed monthly precipitation throughout the year, resulting in a negative humidity coefficient (Ouyang et al., 2021). The sampling plots were established in a dry forest under the management of the Los Bajos de Pechiche community in Montecristi. This area represents a typical Ecuadorian dry forest characterized by seasonal water limitations and floristic adaptation to arid conditions.

The methodology follows the protocol proposed by Moonlight et al. (2020), which randomly establishes a 50 × 100-meter sampling plot using a random sampling approach. To ensure objectivity in plot selection, we utilized Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to randomly assign the sampling location within the study area. The plot was then subdivided into 10 × 10 m subplots, where we recorded the diameter at breast height (DBH) for all trees with a DBH of 5 cm or greater. Using these data, we conducted the structural study, which includes the following variables:

Abundance: It refers to the number of individuals per species; two types of abundance are considered:

Absolute abundance (Aab) = number of individuals per species

Relative abundance (Ar) = number of individuals per species concerning the total number of individuals found in the study area (ni)

Ar = (ni/N) × 100

Where: ni = number of individuals of the i species. N = number of total individuals in the sample.

Frequency: This allows us to determine the number of plots in which a particular species appears; we use two frequencies:

Absolute frequency (Fab) = Presence/absence of a particular species in the plots.

Relative frequency (Fr) = number of plots where a particular species appears concerning the inventoried plots.

Fr= (Fab i / Fab t) × 100

Where: Fabi = Absolute frequency of the i species. Fabt= Total of the frequencies in the sample.

Dominance: Represents the space they occupy or the sum of the horizontal projections of the trees on the ground. Sometimes, this determination is somewhat complicated by the vertical structure of some types of forests, which is represented by the relationship between the basal area of the individuals of a species and the sampled area. Differentiating between two types of dominance.

Absolute dominance (Dab)

Dab = Gi/Gt

Where: Gi = Basal area in m2 for the ith species. Gt= Basal area in m2 of all species

Relative dominance (Dr)

Dr = (Dab i / Dab t) × 100

Where: Dai = Absolute dominance of the i species. Dat = Absolute dominance of all species.

Importance value index (IVI): The IVI is calculated for each species as the sum of its relative abundance, frequency, and dominance, following the methodology proposed by Curtis and McIntosh (1951). This index provides a comprehensive measure of the ecological significance of species within a forest ecosystem, integrating structural and functional attributes (Mori et al., 1983). The IVI is widely used in vegetation studies to identify dominant and keystone species, aiding in conservation and management decisions (Lamprecht, 1989; Magurran, 2021).

IVI = Ar + Fr + Dr

Where: Ar= Relative abundance, Fr= relative frequency, Dr= Relative dominance

By incorporating multiple ecological parameters, the IVI allows for a more robust interpretation of species composition and forest structure, making it a valuable tool in ecological and biodiversity assessments (Kent and Coker, 2012).

Results

We identified 156 individuals, divided into 16 genera and 17 species within 13 families (Table 1). Boraginaceae was the most abundant family (67 individuals), followed by Malvaceae (25 individuals) and Capparaceae (18 individuals).

Regarding dominance, C. trischistandra, E. ruizii, and C. lutea occupy around 95% of the study area in terms of the space used by the species (Figure 1). It is possible to observe that the most abundant species is C. lutea, followed by E. ruizii, with 66 and 18 individuals, respectively. The species with less presence in the sampled area are Cordia sp. and B. graveolens, with only one individual each. Similarly, C. lutea and E. ruizii are the most frequent species in the sampling plots, adding P. excelsum to this variable. In this same sense, it is possible to note that Cordia sp., B. granveolens, and A. arborescens do not have a notable frequency.

Table 1: Species identified in the dry forest in Los Bajos of Montecristi.

Familia	Especies	Nombre común	Individuos
Boraginaceae	Cordia lutea Lam.	Moyuyo	66
Malvaceae	Eriotheca ruizii (K. Schum.) A. Robyns	Jaile	18
Capparaceae	Capparis angulata Ruiz and Pav. ex DC.	Sebastian	13
Fabaceae	Pithecellobium excelsum (Kunth) Mart.	Porotillo	11
Ebenaceae	Diospyros inconstans Jacq.	Caimitillo	9
Malvaceae	Ceiba trischistandra (A. Gray) Bakh.	Ceiba	7
Caricaceae	Vasconcellea sp.	Papaya de monte	5
Capparaceae	Colicodendron scabridum (Kunth) Seem.	Zapote de perro	5
Achatocarpaceae	Achatocarpus pubescens C.H. Wright	Negrito	4
Muntingiaceae	Muntingia calabura L.	Cerezo	3
Fabaceae	Mimosa acantholoba (Humb. and Bonpl. ex Willd.) Poir.	Litayo	3
Primulaceae	Jacquinia sprucei Mez.	Barbasco	3
Rutaceae	Zanthoxylum sp.		3
Erythroxylaceae	Erythroxylum glaucum O.E. Schulz	Arrayan	2
Solanaceae	Acnistus arborescens (L.) Schltdl.	Cojojo	2
Burseraceae	Bursera graveolens (Kunth) Triana and Planch.	Palo santo	1
Boraginaceae	Cordia sp.		1

The species with the most significant ecological weight according to the IVI are C. lutea (27.51 %), C. trischistandra (20.19 %), E. ruizii (18.97 %), Capparis sp. (6.04 %), and P. excelsum (5.92 %), representing 78.66 % of the species found in the study area (Figure 2). The diameter distribution of individuals in this study followed an inverted J-shaped curve, indicating a high concentration of individuals in the smaller diameter classes. In general, the number of individuals gradually decreases as the diameter class increases (Figure 3).

Discussion

The study area has a diversity of tree species comparable to that found by Muñoz et al. (2014) in the fifth experimental forest Haro-Carrión et al. (2021), in secondary forests of Jama and Pedernales; Salas et al. (2020) in an area with dry forest in Joa, Jipijapa; among others. C. lutea had greater abundance

as in the protective forest and vegetation “El Artesan, EcuadorianHands” in Jipijapa (Salas et al., 2020). Similarly, C. trischistandra is situated as a typical dry forest species, a situation already established in Ecuador in studies such as that of Aguirre et al. (2001), Aguirre and Delgado (2005), Aguirre and Kvist (2005, 2009), Best and Kessler (2005), Aguirre et al. (2006), Salas et al. (2020); among others. In this way, C. trischistandra, E. ruizii are the ones that present greater dominance in the study area, coinciding with the results of Jaramillo et al. (2018) in the dry forest of the Bramaderos sector in the Province of Loja, which is also evident that these two species predominate said forest. This situation could occur as a response to land abandonment after its use, as Aguirre and Delgado (2005) mentioned, and its abundance would depend on the conservation status of each area (Aguirre and Kvist, 2009).

The species C. lutea, C. trischistandra, E. ruizii, C. angulata, and P. excelsum have the highest IVI, accumulating 78.66 %, showing that they are the ones that best adapt to the seasonal conditions that prevail in the dry forest. The data obtained coincide with those presented by Salas et al. (2020), whose study shows that some of these species account for 74 % of the total ecological value of the El-Artesan-Ecuadorian Hands protective forest.

The dominance of some species in the study area can be attributed to their physiological and morphological adaptations to dry environments. C. lutea thrives in seasonally dry forests due to its high drought tolerance, rapid growth, and adaptability to nutrient-poor soils (Aguirre and Geada-Lopez. 2017). Its deep root system allows it to access water stored in deeper soil layers, enabling survival during extended dry periods (Pennington et al., 2009). Similarly, C. trischistandra and E. ruizii exhibit key drought-resistant traits, such as water storage capacity in their trunks, thick bark, and deciduous habit, which minimize water loss and enhance survival in arid conditions (Raffelsbauer et al., 2019; Linares-Palomino, 2010). These characteristics make them structural keystone species in the dry forest ecosystem, as they contribute to canopy formation, microclimate regulation, and habitat provision for other species. The dominance of these species reflects their ability to withstand extreme climatic conditions, highlighting the selective pressures that shape dry forest composition and dynamics.

Additionally, it is possible to mention that some abundant woody species in the dry forest (E. ruizzi, for example) could contribute significantly to the functioning of ecosystems because they are hosts of other species, such as epiphytic lichens (Benítez et al., 2019). that have implications for various processes of ecological importance (Richardson and Young, 1977; Helle and Helle, 1989; Hanley et al., 1989; Knops et al., 1991, 1996; Thomas et al., 1996; Rominger et al., 1996; Lehmkuhl, 2004).

When observing the diameter distribution, it is evident that many of the registered individuals (137) are found in DBH ranges from 5 to 14.99 cm, this being the behavior of a self-regenerative community, that is, in this case, the plant community is in a development process (Arruda et al., 2011; Hernández-Stefanoni et al., 2011) reinforcing the theory of human intervention (Birhanu et al., 2018) for wood extraction and subsequent abandonment of the area.

Conclusions and Recommendations

The results show that the area exhibits low species diversity compared to other dry forest ecosystems yet maintains a similar number of individuals to those recorded in comparable regions. The predominance of small-diameter individuals suggests that past timber extraction has shaped the forest structure. However, the presence of regeneration patterns indicates that the forest has the potential to recover if stakeholders implement sustainable management practices. The species C. lutea, C. trischistandra, E. ruizii, C. angulata, and P. excelsum play a key ecological role, exhibiting high abundance, frequency, and dominance in the study area. The inverted J-shaped diameter distribution suggests that young individuals dominate the forest. These findings enhance the understanding of dry forest dynamics and underscore the importance of monitoring and managing these ecosystems to ensure their long-term resilience. Future research should assess biotic and abiotic factors influencing regeneration and examine how anthropogenic activities affect species composition and forest structure.

Acknowledgements

We extend our gratitude to EcuadorianHands and El Artesan for their logistical support in conducting this research. We sincerely appreciate Fabrizio Vera Cedeño and Dante Bolcato Bolcato for their trust and commitment to dry forest conservation in Manabí. A special thanks to the Los Bajos commune for granting access to their lands and actively participating in the generation of knowledge. We also acknowledge the support of the Eloy Alfaro University of Manabí, with special thanks to George García Mera, Edisson Macías Álvarez, Don Quino, and Franklin for their valuable contributions. Finally, we express our deep appreciation to DRYFLOR (Red Florística Latinoamericana del Bosque Tropical Estacionalmente Seco) for fostering research and collaboration in the study of seasonally dry tropical forests across Latin America.

Novelty Statement

Our manuscript presents relevant information on the composition and structure of the dry forest in Los Bajo commune in the Province of Manabí on the Ecuadorian coast. Our results show that the study area has suffered strong deforestation processes over time and currently, despite anthropic intervention, it is in a state of natural regeneration and maintains its ecological functions, which is especially important in regarding the provision of ecosystem services.

Authors’ Contribution

Jimmy Alexander Vinces-Aguayo, Alex Mora-Arcentales, Anthony Narvaéz-Calderon: Collect the data and make the original draft writing.

Paola Alcívar-Vaca: Review and editing.

Adrián Murillo-Choez: Review and editing, research and resources.

Carlos Salas-Macías: Conceived and designed the analysis, performed the analysis, wrote the paper, review and editing.

Conflict of interest

The authors have no conflict to interested to declare.

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