Abstract

VASQUEZ-RIVAS, Deyriana del Valle; ANDRADES-GRASSI, Jesús Enrique; GAMEZ, Luis E.  and  RODRIGUEZ L., Gerardo Gabriel. Exploration and comparison of spatial distribution of peri-urban forests in Mérida, Venezuela. Colomb. for. [online]. 2022, vol.25, n.1, pp.36-50.  Epub Mar 09, 2022. ISSN 0120-0739.  https://doi.org/10.14483/2256201x.18046.

Spatial point patterns are a novel approach for the analysis of forest functional structure. The spatial distribution of trees in peri-urban forests of Mérida (Venezuela) was evaluated and compared. The null hypothesis of Complete Spatial Randomness (CSR) was proposed, applying spatial exploratory and confirmatory methods without marks, and involving marks for dasometric variables, and multivariate point pattern tests (α= 0.05) to five plots of primary forest and five plots of secondary forest. Both forest types exhibited similar mean density (310 and 339 ind.ha-1). Besides, a CSR process was identified for the trees without considering marks of the height and DBH, and in the remaining volume and species marks, the process was identified as non-random. Likewise, there are no differences between the multivariate spatial processes. It is recommended to extend the work area and to apply it in better differentiated forests.

Keywords : biometrics; andean forests; spatial distribution; spatial statistics; spatial point patterns; vegetation..

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