Assessing the Internal Structural Integrity of Ceroxylon Palms Using Sonic Tomography in Tropical Montane Forests of the Peruvian Andes

Gómez-Ticerán D.; Salinas-Inga A.; Macedo-Bedoya J.; Rosa-Sánchez M.L.; Camones-Gonzales F.; Angeles-Alvarez F.; Carbajal-Bellido M.; Padilla-Torres B.; Morosini-Inga P.; León-Bañuelos L.A.; Quinteros-Gómez Y. · Forests (2026) · DOI: 10.3390/f17060633

Resumen

Palms of the genus Ceroxylon constitute a key component of Andean tropical montane forests; however, their internal structural integrity has been scarcely studied in Peru. The present study assessed the internal structural condition of natural populations within the Private Conservation Area (PCA) Bosque de Palmeras of the Taulía-Molinopampa (Amazonas, Peru) using sonic tomography. A total of 64 individuals distributed across four zones with differing degrees of anthropogenic disturbance—Mixed Forest (MF), Active Restoration (AR), Passive Restoration (PR), and Cattle Ranching (CR)—were analyzed, generating 256 tomograms across four vertical levels. Results revealed high levels of structural deterioration (mean = 63.58%), with significant differences observed among zones (p < 0.05). A linear mixed model (LMM) demonstrated that both study zone and diameter at breast height (DBH) are significant predictors of decay (p < 0.05), with the CR zone exhibiting a significant increase of 9.28% in damage compared to the MF reference. Furthermore, a significant positive relationship was found between DBH and structural damage (increase of 0.419% per cm), while fixed effects in the model explained 24.1% of the total variance. Structural deterioration exhibited a heterogeneous vertical distribution, being most sensitive to anthropogenic pressure at the basal level (10 cm). These findings demonstrate that areas under greater anthropogenic pressure and larger individuals are associated with higher structural deterioration, confirming the potential of sonic tomography as an effective tool for the monitoring and conservation of Andean palms.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos