| Riassunto: | The Abies forest is one of the most threatened ecosystems in Mexico, the largest forests stands are in the Transmexican Volcanic Belt, and some constitute the winter habitat of the monarch butterfly. To determine the diversity, structure, and regeneration of the fir forest of a protected area where the monarch butterfly arrives, quadrats were established where dasometric data were collected and the populations of trees and shrubs evaluated. Thirty-six species of woody plants were identified, and the estimated sampling coverage was Ĉm = 99.7%. Asteraceae was the richest family and dominated among the thickets, Pinaceae dominated between the saplings and trunks. The flora showed homogeneity in species abundance and a Shannon-Weiner value of 3.2. The thickets showed the largest N0 and N1, and the trunks showed the smallest N0 and the largest N2 of the Hill series. The distribution by height and diameter classes revealed an inverted J shape for all flora and species with the highest IVI. Abies religiosa showed the highest IVI (35.2%) and dominated in saplings and trunks, followed by Roldana angulifolia (14.8%), which dominated in thickets. Three strata make up the vertical structure of the forest, with a relative distribution of 60.4%. 64% of the species showed evidence of regeneration. The A. religious forest studied is a mature ecosystem that shows a satisfactory regeneration trend, but it needs urgent and prioritized conservation and management programs that maintain it and favor the arrival and wintry permanence of the monarch butterfly.
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