The composition and structure of a dry, semideciduous forest in western Ecuador

In the coastal range of western Ecuador, we established a one‐hectare plot in dry, semideciduous forest at 320–365 m elevation (l°26'S 80°41'W). Within the plot, we recorded all trees ≥ 5 cm dbh. There were present 538 trees and 655 stems with a total basal area of 7.5 m 2 . Taxonomically the trees represented 37 species and 22 families. Ampelocera sp. was the most important species with 37% of the IVI. Acnistus arborescens, Solarium confertiseriatum , and Zanthoxylum o f. fagara , are dominant pioneer species in the plot. The structure and flora of the forest are strongly influenced by severe disturbance caused by selective logging 12 years ago. An index of dispersion based on frequencies was used to infer spatial patterns of the 15 most abundant tree species (n = 4–188). Seven species showed clumped distributions, and the degree of clumping was not correlated with abundance. Conservation of this forest type is worthwhile because its recovery is fast and it can act as a refuge for plant and animal species.