2.1 Study area
The study was conducted at a national scale and included all forest types in Mexico (Fig 1). The country is located between latitudes 32° and 14° N, where the Nearctic and Neotropical biogeographic zones converge. Due to its geographical location, the territory has complex topographic and climatic characteristics (CONABIO, 1998). From the arid zones in the northwest to the humid rainforest in the southeast, forest ecosystems in Mexico are very diverse. They comprise a vast variety of vegetation, having tree heights ranging between 60m in coniferous forests to 1.3 m in xerophilous scrubs (CONAFOR, 2017). Tree species of economic interest include mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla ) and cedar (Cedrela odorata ), which are typical of tropical forests.