Fire History and Vegetation Changes in Northern Patagonia, Argentina

Veblen, Thomas T.; Kitzberger, Thomas; Raffaele, Estela; Lorenz, Diane C.

doi:10.1007/0-387-21710-x_9

Cited by 84 publications

(95 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…438 to 53830 0 S in southern Patagonia (Veblen et al 2003, Mermoz et al 2005. In northern Patagonia many of these post-fire shrublands are dominated by tall bamboos (Chusquea culeou) which provide abundant fine fuels that are easily desiccated and enhance the flammability of these shrublands (Veblen et al 2003). Despite the scarcity of the bamboo south of 44830 0 S in the CL study area and its complete absence south of 478 S (Parodi 1941) the pattern of fire-resistant Nothofagus forests and fire-prone tall shrublands persists throughout southern Patagonia.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Habitat distribution modeling reveals vegetation flammability and land use as drivers of wildfire in SW Patagonia

et al. 2013

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Abstract. Despite important recent advances in modeling current and future global fire activity in relation to biophysical predictors there remain important uncertainties about finer-scale spatial heterogeneity of fire and especially about human influences which are typically assessed at coarse-spatial resolutions. The purpose of the current study is to quantify the influence of biophysical and anthropogenic variables on the spatial distribution of wildfire activity between 1984 and 2010 over an extensive southern Patagonian-Andean region from ca. 438 to 538 S extending from coastal rainforests to xeric woodland and steppe.We used satellite imagery to map all detectable fires .5 ha from 1984 to 2010 in four study areas (each of 13,100 to 36,635 km 2 ) and field checked 65 of these burns for accuracy of burned vegetation class and fire perimeters. Then, we used the MaxEnt modeling technique to assess the relationships of wildfire distributions to biophysical and human environmental variables in each of the four regions. The 232 fires .5 ha mapped in the four study areas accounted for an area of 1,314 km 2 indicating that at least 1.8% of the total area burned between 1984 and 2010. In general, areas with intermediate productivity levels (e.g., shrublands) have higher fire probability compared with areas of low and high productivity levels, such as steppe and wet forests, respectively. There is a marked contrast in the flammability of broad vegetation classes in determining fire activity at a regional scale, as well as a strong spatial relationship of wildfires to anthropogenic variables. The juxtaposition of fire-resistant tall forests with fire-prone shrublands and woodlands creates the potential for positive feedbacks from human-set fires to gradually increase the flammability of extensive landscapes through repeated burning. Distance to roads and settlements were also strong predictors, suggesting that fire in all regions is ignition-limited. However, these anthropogenic predictors influenced probability of fire differently among study regions depending on their main land-use practices and their past and present socioeconomic contexts.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat distribution modeling reveals vegetation flammability and land use as drivers of wildfire in SW Patagonia

et al. 2013

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“…Also, exotic trees have been planted in areas that were formerly steppe or open woodland, where lack of fuel continuity was a major limitation to spread of fire (Nuñez & Raffaele 2007). Today, however, large areas of these exotic conifers have burned and others create the potential for extensive crown fires in habitats previously characterized by surface fires and lower fuel volumes (Veblen et al 2003). Burned plantations interfere with post-fire succession to the original matorral vegetation (Nuñez & Raffaele 2007;Cuevas & Zalba 2009).…”

Section: Observed Impacts Of South American Conifer Introductionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spread and impact of introduced conifers in South America: Lessons from other southern hemisphere regions

Simberloff¹,

et al. 2010

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The history of conifers introduced earlier elsewhere in the southern hemisphere suggests that recent invasions in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay are likely to increase in number and size. In South Africa, New Zealand and Australia, early ornamental introductions and small forestry plantations did not lead to large-scale invasions, while subsequent large plantations were followed with a lag of about 20-30 years by troublesome invasions. Large-scale conifer plantation forestry in South America began about 50-80 years later than in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, while reports of invasions in South America lagged behind those in the latter nations by a century. Impacts of invading non-native conifers outside South America are varied and include replacement of grassland and shrubland by conifer forest, alteration of fire and hydrological regimes, modification of soil nutrients, and changes in aboveground and belowground biotic communities. Several of these effects have already been detected in various parts of South America undergoing conifer invasion. The sheer amount of area planted in conifers is already very large in Chile and growing rapidly in Argentina and Brazil. This mass of reproductive trees, in turn, produces an enormous propagule pressure that may accelerate ongoing invasions and spark new ones at an increasing rate. Regulations to control conifer invasions, including measures to mitigate spread, were belatedly implemented in New Zealand and South Africa, as well as in certain Australian states, inspired by observations on invasions in those nations. Regulations in South America are weaker and piecemeal, but the existing research base on conifer invasions elsewhere could be useful in fashioning effective regulations in South America. Pressure from foreign customers in South Africa has led most companies there to seek certification through the Forestry Stewardship Council; a similar programme operates in Australia. Such an approach may be promising in South America.a ec_2058 489..504

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“…Fire historically has been the dominant disturbance in northern Patagonia, affecting native communities along a gradient from steppe through dry woodlands to mesic Andean forests Veblen et al 2003). Between the period of European settlement near the end of the XIX century, and the beginning of the XX century, the occurrence and frequency of fires has increased and produced many vegetation changes .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fire enhances the ‘competition-free’ space of an invader shrub: Rosa rubiginosa in northwestern Patagonia

Cavallero

Raffaele

2010

Biol Invasions

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Fire can influence reproductive phenology of plants, enhancing the reproductive rate of many species. Disturbances such as fire can promote the proliferation of exotic species in native plant communities. In this study we analyze the effect of fire on reproductive phenology in three native species (a shrub: Berberis buxifolia and two small trees: Maytenus boaria and Schinus patagonicus) and in an exotic shrub (Rosa rubiginosa). Flowering and fruiting phenology was monitored in neighbouring burned and unburned forests. The shrubs flowered and fruited in both sites, but the small trees did so only in the unburned site. There is no overlapping in the flowering and fruiting phenophases between the natives and the exotic species. Therefore, they do not compete in resource offering to pollinators and seed dispersers. Consequently, R. rubiginosa has a 'competition-free' space enhanced by fire, from the reproductive phenology perspective.

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Fire History and Vegetation Changes in Northern Patagonia, Argentina

Cited by 84 publications

References 39 publications

Habitat distribution modeling reveals vegetation flammability and land use as drivers of wildfire in SW Patagonia

Habitat distribution modeling reveals vegetation flammability and land use as drivers of wildfire in SW Patagonia

Spread and impact of introduced conifers in South America: Lessons from other southern hemisphere regions

Fire enhances the ‘competition-free’ space of an invader shrub: Rosa rubiginosa in northwestern Patagonia

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