Introduction:

Determining growth and yield potential of a forest species is a requirement for management planning. One of the important forest species for the Tumaco region is Carapa guianensis (Aubl.), due to its high timber potential.

Objective:

To evaluate the growth potential of the native species C. guianensis (andiroba or tangare) in Tumaco, Colombia.

Materials and methods:

Permanent plots were established in which tree measurement variables were recorded for 90 even-aged individuals for 60 months. Mean annual increments were estimated and an allometric equation was fitted to estimate height from the diameter at 1.30 m (DBH).

Results and discussion:

At 60 months of age, C. guianensis trees showed survival between 70 and 87 %. Mean annual increase in diameter and height was 2.9 cm∙yr-1 and 2.3 cm∙yr-1, respectively. By fitting linear and nonlinear models, we determine the following allometric equation $ln\mathrm{H}=0.2271+0.4284\mathrm{*}\mathrm{l}\mathrm{n}DBH+0.138\mathrm{*}{\left(\mathrm{l}\mathrm{n}DBH\mathrm{}\right)}^2$. The species showed rapid diameter growth compared to other regions where it can take more than 50 years to reach a minimum usable diameter of 40 cm.

Conclusion:

Based on mean annual growth increments, and under the agroecological conditions of the region, C. guianensis is expected to reach maturity at an early age (before 50 years of age).