ROOT BIOMASS IN A TEMPERATE FOREST WITH AND WITHOUT FOREST MANAGEMENT IN HIDALGO, MEXICO

The effect of forest management on biodiversity and ecosystem processes has been little studied in Mexican temperate forests. In this way, roots are good functional indicators of an ecosystem because they constitute much of the living ground biomass and exert control over soil formation processes, organic matter production and nutrient dynamics. This study compares coarse and fine root biomass from a protected forest and a managed area where there was selective logging during 2003 and 2004, resulting in the removal of 10 % of the trees. The average root biomass did not differ significantly between sites (P = 0.185). Root biomass in the managed forest was 3.05 Mg.ha(-1) (S.E. = 0.25) and 3.39 Mg.ha(-1) (S.E. = 0.24) in the preserved forest. Fine roots occupied the highest percentage of the biomass in both forest types, although their values did not differ significantly between sites (P = 0.095). As the results suggest, selective logging maintains environmental conditions, particularly those of the soil, which allows having similar biomass to that in the forest preserved under natural conditions.