Effects of firewood harvesting intensity on biodiversity and ecosystem services in shrublands of northern Patagonia

Abstract

Background: Forest management has historically focused on provisioning of goods (e.g. timber, biomass), but there is an increasing interest to manage forests also to maintain biodiversity and to provide other ecosystem services (ES). Methods: We evaluated the effects of firewood harvesting intensity on biodiversity and different ES in three contrasting shrubland sites in northern Patagonia (Argentina). At each site, four harvesting treatments, representing various levels of harvest intensity, were randomly assigned to eight permanent sample plots of 31.5 m × 45 m during 2013-2014. Results: We found that the effects of increasing harvesting intensity on plant diversity changed from negative to positive (and from nonlinear to more linear responses) with increasing site productivity. Harvesting intensity showed contrasting effects on variables related to fire protection ecosystem service, since it reduced fuel amount (potentially reducing fire spread) but also reduced live fuel moisture content (potentially increasing flammability) at the three sites. Two variables related to soil formation and protection ES, leaf litter cover and aerial soil cover, decreased with harvesting intensity at the three sites. Conclusions: We conclude that shrubland management for firewood production may enhance biodiversity without compromising certain important ES. The intensity of harvesting should be determined according to site conditions and forecasted impacts on biodiversity, fire and soil formation and protection.

Early response of Nothofagus antarctica forests to thinning intensity in northern Patagonia

“…Thus, a 50% thinning intensity would be compatible with silvopastoral systems, through favoring grass development in the intervention strips and maintaining growth rates of the retained tree component. In addition, fuel load and continuity (and thus flammability at the community level) is reduced by removing trees (Goldenberg et al 2020b). As N. antarctica forests are among the most fire-prone woody communities in Patagonia (Tiribelli et al 2018), this strategy could reduce fire occurrence and magnitude in northern Patagonian forests.…”

Supervivencia y crecimiento de plantines de ciprés de la cordillera durante siete años en dos sitios contrastantes de Patagonia norte

“…Esto implicó extracción o reemplazo de especies nativas, muchas veces con un consecuente proceso de degradación de la tierra que requiere de prácticas activas para su restauración (Rusch et al 2017). Sin embargo, los matorrales son uno de los tipos forestales más diversos de los bosques Andino-patagónicos (Veblen et al 1996), y su uso y conservación deben ser objeto de atención, ya que proveen múltiples servicios ambientales (Goldenberg et al 2020b). Descontando la superficie dentro de áreas protegidas, en la Patagonia norte, los matorrales ocupan ~60000 ha, de las cuales un tercio son matorrales mixtos (Fundación INVAP y CIEFAP 2019).…”

“…Este proceso podría facilitarse mediante plantación, estableciendo un rodal coetáneo del que se podrían obtener productos de alta calidad maderable con un manejo relativamente simple. Por otro lado, en el corto y mediano plazo sería posible obtener productos dendroenergéticos (i.e., leña, chips) de las especies arbustivas rebrotantes (Goldenberg et al 2020a) sin comprometer la biodiversidad del sitio (Goldenberg et al 2020b). Además, los matorrales mixtos tienen numerosas especies que se podrían utilizar como nodrizas (Núñez et al 2009), condición que beneficia la supervivencia y el desarrollo de los renovales de ciprés durante los primeros años (Kitzberger et al 2000).…”

Decoding information in multilayer ecological networks: The keystone species case

“…It contains 11 most representative woody plant species of a typical mixed woodland of northern Patagonia, 11 herbivore guilds and 25 pollinators grouped by morphotypes (Coulin et al, 2019). The abundance of each plant was quantified as cover percentage (Goldenberg et al, 2020).…”