Ki’ila Salas

Honduran mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla, Meliaceae) is a shade-intolerant hardwood tree (Snook 1996) that is found in southern Mexico, Central America and most of Amazonian South America (Rainforest Alliance 2012). Because this timber species is so valuable ecologically and economically, it is imperative that the regeneration, survival and growth of mahogany is known. My research question is What silvicultural treatment promotes a higher growth and survival rate for naturally regenerated mahogany after 20 years? Under the guidance of Dr. Laura Snook, the Programme for Belize (PfB) Forestry Team established different experiments in the Hill Bank area within the Rio Bravo Conservation and Management Area (RBCMA) between 1996-1998. These experiments were established in degraded cut-over forest where the areas were completely cleared of vegetation; mahogany seedlings naturally regenerated on the cleared plots that comprised of four treatments: 1) felling; 2) bulldozing; 3) girdling; and 4) underbrush clearing. Since the experiments were established, the naturally regenerated seedlings were monitored and measured every year for 5 years after the treatment (Toledo & Snook 2005). Mahogany takes decades to grow, so the 5-year measurements did not provide significant evidence to inform PfB about what silvicultural treatments are useful. My research will therefore focus on re-measuring the regenerated S. macrophylla 20 years after the treatment to help in understanding how the silvicultural interventions have aided mahogany regeneration.