We asked whether prescribed fire could be a useful management tool to reduce invasion by non-native plants in an ecosystem where native plants are supposed to be adapted to fires. Specifically, we compare the post-fire resprouting response of native and non-native woody species in Chaco Serrano forest of central Argentina. The measurements were carried out in five burnt areas where we selected ten native and seven non-native species. Our response variables were (1) post-fire survival, (2) types of resprouts, and (3) the growth of the resprouts. Our main results show that one year after the fire, survivals of native and non-native species were 0.84 and 0.89, respectively, with variances in survival seven times smaller in the native species group. Type of resprout was also less variable in native species, while growth of the resprouts was similar in native and non-native groups. We interpret that in most cases, the burning a forest with mixed native and non-native plants through prescribed fires will not differentially stop the invasion by non-native woody species even in ecosystems which are presumed to be relatively resistant to fires such as our study area.

Domestic livestock are widespread in seasonally dry forests, likely causing forest degradation and limiting tree seedling establishment. Shrubs can play an important role in facilitating tree regeneration, by protecting trees from livestock damage and ameliorating unfavorable abiotic conditions. We aimed at disentangling the relative contribution of grazing exclusion, long‐term forest conservation, and the potential facilitation effect of shrubs on the performance of saplings of the native tree Kageneckia lanceolata. We planted 400 saplings in grazed and ungrazed areas situated both in a preserved and a degraded forest. In each situation, we established planting plots in three accompanying vegetation treatments: herbs, a nonleguminous spiny shrub and a leguminous spiny shrub. Survival of 3‐year‐old saplings was 10‐fold higher in the preserved than in the degraded forest and 2‐fold higher in the ungrazed than in the grazed site. Differences in survival among accompanying vegetation treatments were much smaller than between grazing treatments. Survival significantly increased with increasing protection by shrubs only in the degraded site. Sapling growth patterns were fairly similar to survival patterns, with no growth in the degraded forest, except for limited growth under both shrubs in the ungrazed site. We conclude that, in selecting plantation sites for the study species, forest condition and grazing exclusion should be prioritized over microsite selection based on neighboring vegetation.

No abstract