Regenerating mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) from seed in Quintana Roo, Mexico: the effects of sowing method and clearing treatment

摘要

Honduras or bigleaf mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla King) is the most commercially important timber species in the Neotropics, but it often does not regenerate successfully after harvesting. Effective methods are needed to sustain or increase mahogany yields by increasing regeneration. This study evaluates the effects of three treatments (slash, fell and burn; slash, fell and leave; and uprooting and pushing away trees using machines) used to open 0.5 ha clearings, plus a control under the forest canopy, and two sowing methods (surface-sown seed and buried seed) on the germination, establishment, survival, and early growth of mahogany. After 10 months, significantly more buried seeds yielded established seedlings (20%) than surface-sown seeds (9%), but there were no significant differences among clearing treatments. Establishment on controls averaged 18%.