Seasonal Dynamics of Nitrogen Compounds in a Disturbed Forest in Northern Mexico

Authors

  • Luis Manuel Valenzuela-Nuñez

    Laboratorio de Biología y Ecología Forestal, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango, Gómez Palacio 35010, Mexico
  • Antonio Gallegos-Islas

    Posgrado en Ciencias en Producción Agropecuaria, Universidad Autónoma Agraria Antonio Narro Unidad Laguna, Torreón 27054, Mexico
  • Viridiana Contreras-Villareal

    Posgrado en Ciencias en Producción Agropecuaria, Universidad Autónoma Agraria Antonio Narro Unidad Laguna, Torreón 27054, Mexico
  • Dalia Ivette Carrillo-Moreno

    Posgrado en Ciencias en Producción Agropecuaria, Universidad Autónoma Agraria Antonio Narro Unidad Laguna, Torreón 27054, Mexico
  • Edwin Amir Briceño-Contreras

    Instituto Tecnológico Superior de Lerdo, Lerdo 35150, Mexico
  • Julio César Ríos-Saucedo

    Campo Experimental Valle del Guadiana, Durango 34170, Mexico
  • Cayetano Navarrete-Molina

    Posgrado en Ciencias en Producción Agropecuaria, Universidad Autónoma Agraria Antonio Narro Unidad Laguna, Torreón 27054, Mexico

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30564/re.v8i1.10967
Received: 3 November 2025 | Revised: 5 December 2025 | Accepted: 21 January 2026 | Published Online: 24 February 2026

Abstract

Pine and oak forests have great relevance worldwide since they are recognized for the benefits and services they provide. Grazing can affect nitrogen reserves in forest trees in complex ways, the effects manifest through changes in the soil, vegetation, and the nitrogen cycle. Nature tourism can have negative impacts on tree physiology. These impacts affect vital processes such as photosynthesis, respiration, water relations, and metabolism. This study was developed in order to determine whether natural populations of pine (Pinus cembroides Zucc.) and oak (Quercus grisea Liebm.) are affected physiologically by grazing and tourism during the stages of development and dormancy, specifically in nitrogenous compounds (Total Soluble Proteins [TSP] and Total Amino Acids [TAA]) stocked in perennial organs (stem and roots) and leaves. The results showed that grazing and tourism have both negative and favorable effects on the concentrations of nitrogen compounds. The highest concentration of nitrogenous compounds was found in oak compared to pine. The root, trunk, and leaves in the grazed and non-impacted sites showed the highest concentrations of nitrogen compounds compared to the tourism-impacted site. Pine is the species most affected by anthropogenic processes (grazing and tourism) in the stages of development and dormancy, since the concentrations of nitrogenous compounds were lower compared to oak.

Keywords:

N Cycle; Fagaceae; Pinaceae; Total Soluble Proteins (TSP); Total Amino Acids (TAA); Grazing; Tourism

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Valenzuela-Nuñez, L. M., Gallegos-Islas, A., Contreras-Villareal, V., Carrillo-Moreno, D. I., Briceño-Contreras, E. A., Ríos-Saucedo, J. C., & Navarrete-Molina, C. (2025). Seasonal Dynamics of Nitrogen Compounds in a Disturbed Forest in Northern Mexico. Research in Ecology, 8(1), 330–341. https://doi.org/10.30564/re.v8i1.10967

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Vol.8, Iss.1 (February 2026)(in progress)

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Copyright © 2025 Luis Manuel Valenzuela-Nuñez, Antonio Gallegos-Islas, Viridiana Contreras-Villareal, Dalia Ivette Carrillo-Moreno, Edwin Amir Briceño-Contreras, Julio César Ríos-Saucedo, Cayetano Navarrete-Molina

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This is an open access article under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) License.

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