Article Influence of Anthropogenic Factors on the Diversity and Structure of a Dry Forest in the Central Part of the Tumbesian Region (Ecuador–Perú) Jorge Cueva Ortiz 1,* , Carlos Iván Espinosa 2 , Carlos Quiroz Dahik 1 , Zhofre Aguirre Mendoza 3 , Eduardo Cueva Ortiz 2, Elizabeth Gusmán 2, Michael Weber 1 and Patrick Hildebrandt 1 1 Institute of Silviculture, TUM School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Technische Universität München, 85354 Freising, Germany;
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[email protected]; Tel.: +49-8161-71-4690 Received: 1 November 2018; Accepted: 2 January 2019; Published: 5 January 2019 Abstract: The dry forest of southern Ecuador and northern Perú (called the Tumbesian region) is known for its high diversity, endemism, and healthy conservation state. Nevertheless, the forest is exposed to many threats linked with human activities. To understand the effects of these threats, which have not been appropriately assessed, we pose two questions: (a) What are the diversity and structural situations of the forest? (b) Are anthropogenic activities affecting the composition and structure of the forest? The assessed factors were species richness, diversity, species similarity, abundance, and density. Forest information was obtained from 72 plots (total area 25.92 ha) randomly placed to cover a wide range of stand densities (from 200 to 1100 m a.s.l.).