Tropical dry forests are characterized by structural and physiological diversity in their lifestyles. However, the structure, composition and number of species, change according to stage of succession. The aim of this study was to estimate and compare the diameter growth of three successional stages in a tropical dry forest at the Santa Rosa National Park, through the evaluation of nine permanent sample plots. The results showed that the higher value of mean annual increment (MAI) was for the early stage (1,60 mm/year), the intermediate stage (2,20 mm/year) and the lower value was for the late stage (1,20 mm/year). A high variation between evaluated plots in the same stage was found in terms of MAI, number of species and their composition. The largest diameter increase for the early stage was found in the class diameter of 15-20 cm (5,20 mm/year), in the intermediate stage at 20-25 cm class(4,50 mm/year) and in the 35-40 cm class(4,90 mm/year) for the late stage. In general, species that grew the most were Rehdera trinervis (17,00mm/year) and Swietenia macrophylla (12,20 mm/year), and the ones that grew the least were the shade-tolerant species that grow in the understory of the intermediate and late stages. Annual mortality percentages calculated with the logarithmic model were 1,3%, 2,6%, and 1,5% in the early, intermediate, and late stage respectively; while the annual recruitment was estimated as 8.8%, 4.8%, and 1.5% for the same stages respectively. Therefore, the main differences among stages are related particularly to species composition and much less to site-specific biophysical factors.
