Ages and diameters were measured in mature stands for each of 507 ponderosa pine, 541 lodgepole pine, 141 limber pine, and 217 Engelmann spruce trees in the Colorado Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, USA. Cumulative age distributions were statistically different for each species. The spruce and ponderosa pine age distributions each exhibited a strong infection point at @?210 and 125 yr, respectively, while neither lodgepole nor limber pine showed such a sharp inflection point. We suggest that the presence of this inflection point may be indicative of "climax" type in mature stands and interpret the age distributions of these species as reflective of their climax, colonizing and fugitive ecological patterns, respectively. Diameter [...]
