Click here to open feedback window. 147 THE AMERICAS Abies guatemalensis Pinaceae Guatemalan fir, pashaque, pinabere, romerillo Distribution El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico Habitat The tree occurs in tropical, montane, coniferous forest from 1800 to 4000m. Population status and trends The Guatemalan Fir is the southernmost member of its genus. It was reported to be common until the 1940s and large populations may still remain in Honduras. There has been heavy timber exploitation throughout the range. Most of the remaining stands in Guatemala are no greater than 3ha in size. Isolated stands continue to be exploited heavily by local inhabitants, especially for firewood collection, and the deep fertile soils, on which the tree grows, are attractive to agricultural development. Cone crops are irregular and germination is poor. The status of the species in Mexico is difficult to ascertain because of confusion with other species in the genus, many of which are morphologically very similar and some of which appear to have very restricted distributions (Newton, in litt. 1998). Role of species in the ecosystem Threats Local use, clear-felling/logging of the habitat, expansion of human settlement Utilisation The wood has been used as lumber since Mayan times and was used extensively for construction work by the Spanish. Today it is the preferred wood for roof shingles, building material, charcoal and firewood. Trade There is no evidence to suggest the species is present in international trade. IUCN Conservation category VU A1d  according to SSC Conifer Specialist Group. Conservation measures Programmes to improve the status of the species have been run by CAMCORE. Seeds from selected trees have been collected and plantings have taken place in Mexico and Colombia. Felling is prohibited in Guatemala and Mexico and the species is listed in CITES Appendix I. Forest management and ecosystem The average growth rate ranges from 0.36 to 0.46m/year between 49 to 71 years of age. Annual diameter increment varies from 0.59 to 0.69cm. References Dvorak, W.S. & J.K. Donahue. 1992. CAMCORE Cooperative Research Review 1980-1992. Forestry Department, North Carolina State University, USA: CAMCORE (La Cooperativa de Recursos de Coníferas de Centroamérica y México). 94pp. Farjon, Aljos, Christopher N. Page, & Nico Schellevis. 1993. A preliminary world list of threatened conifer taxa. Biodiversity and Conservation 2: 304-326. Farjon, Aljos. et al. 1998. Data collection forms for conifer species completed by the SSC Conifer Specialist Group between 1996 and 1998. Newton, A. (1998) In litt. to WCMC