Forest management accelerates aboveground biomass accumulation in a temperate forest of Central Mexico

Introduction: Sustainable forest management focuses on securing environmental services while maintaining aboveground biomass (AGB) accumulation. Objective: To evaluate the AGB along of a Chronosequence of temperate forest and to examine the role of forest management for timber production on patterns of AGB fixation, increment and allocation.Materials and methods: A chronosequence of stands dominated by Pinus patula Schiede ex Schltdl. & Cham. was selected in a range from 7 to 30 years. AGB was estimated with allometric models and with parameterized models to infer the age at which the managed forest reaches its maximum production. AGB production, aboveground net aerial primary productivity (ANPP), increments in AGB and their allocation to tree structural components were calculated and compared with those of a natural forest (NMF).Results and discussion: AGB and APPN increased with stand age throughout the chronosequence. The 30-year-old stand produced 79 % of the AGB observed in the NMF. These two sites had high AGB production, which corresponded to high ANPP with 87 % similarity. Stems were the tree structural component with the highest AGB allocation (70 %), mainly due to silvicultural practices such as thinning, which is part of the forest management program.Conclusions: P. patula forests with forest management accelerated the accumulation of AGB in temperate forest stands along the chronosequence studied, reaching levels similar to those of a NMF in a shorter period.