Wood Volume Production and Use of 10 Woody Species in Semiarid Zones of Northeastern Mexico

Abstract

A research strategy was established to analyze the structure of timber trees in terms of forest productivity (volume and wood density) of 10 species. The native species Acacia farnesiana, Acacia schaffneri, Bumelia celastrina, Cercidium macrun, Condalia hookeri, Ebenopsis ebano, Helietta parvifolia, and Prosopis laevigata and the exotic species Eucalyptus camaldulensis and Leucaena leucocephala were chosen due to their ecological and economic importance to the rural villages of northeastern Mexico. Measurements of different growth parameters and volume of trees were evaluated. The introduced species E. camaldulensis and L. leucocephala showed the best performance in wood volume production per tree and per hectare when compared to the native species. Likewise, among the native species, E. ebano, P. laevigata, C. hookeri, and A. farnesiana tended to show better characteristics in terms of wood volume production in comparison to H. parvifolia, A. schaffneri, C. macrum, and B. celastrina. Results showed a high diversity on the properties studied. The high biomass produced by most of the species considered in this study revealed their great energetic potential when used as wood and firewood or vegetal charcoal.