Impacts of varying precipitation regimes upon the structure, spatial patterns, and productivity of Nothofagus pumilio-dominated old-growth forests in Patagonia

Soto, Daniel P.; Salas‐Eljatib, Christian; Donoso, Pablo J.; Hernández-Moreno, Ángela; Seidel, Dominik; D’Amato, Anthony W.

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2022.120519

Cited by 7 publications

(12 citation statements)

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“…Forest structure of Nothofagus pumilio has been studied across different natural gradients, e.g. site quality, rainfall regimes, altitude and temperature (Martıńez Pastur et al 2000;Massaccesi et al 2008;Brand et al 2022;Soto et al 2022). Our study showed that several structural differences can also be associated to age structure of young and mature unmanaged stands.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 66%

Shelterwood cut intensity determines recovery pathways of managed Nothofagus pumilio forests

Chaves,

Rodríguez-Souilla,

Cellini

et al. 2024

NZJFS

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Background: Forest harvesting is the main driver of change in forest structure and natural regeneration dynamics during management. Forest recovery after disturbances is important for economic values and ecological processes of natural forests. The aim of the study was to assess recovery paths of Nothofagus pumilio (Poepp. & Endl.) Krasser forests regarding stand structure, environmental characteristics and regeneration values after two harvest intensities of shelterwood regeneration cuts during four different periods after harvesting (YAH). Methods: A total of 59 stands harvested under shelterwood regeneration cuts, including four YAH periods (0-2, 3-10, 11-40, >40 years), and 41 unmanaged stands of N. pumilio forests were sampled in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. Forest structure, environmental characteristics and regeneration values were measured and compared by analyses of variance, using harvesting intensity, YAH and age structure as main factors. These variables were used to calculate different indices to define recovery pathways for the different treatments. Results: Forest structural variables such as basal area and total volume over bark differed between harvesting intensities, and the differences with unmanaged forests tend to decrease over time. Soil variables did not significantly differ among young and mature unmanaged forests or managed forests under low or high harvesting intensities. In contrast, light availability presented differences in unmanaged forests compared to managed forests among different harvesting intensities and YAH, although the gap decreased with time particularly beyond 40 YAH. Some regeneration variables, such as seedling density, differed among young and mature unmanaged forests, but did not change with harvesting intensity. Other regeneration variables, such as seedling height and sapling density increased with YAH. The forest index (FI), environment index (EI), and regeneration index (RI) showed different pathways for harvested forests over time, where greater changes were observed for high intensity shelterwood cuts. The differences, compared to unmanaged forests, drastically reduced beyond 40 YAH, regardless of harvesting intensity. Conclusions: Forest structural, environmental and regeneration variables followed different pathways over time for the studied harvesting intensities of shelterwood regeneration cuts when compared to unmanaged forests. As expected, greatest differences on all these variables from natural conditions occurred when more intense harvesting was carried out. Our results suggests that N. pumilio forests were resilient to shelterwood regeneration cuts regarding forest structure, regeneration, and environmental conditions (soil properties and light availability), reaching comparable values to unmanaged forests beyond 40 YAH.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 66%

Shelterwood cut intensity determines recovery pathways of managed Nothofagus pumilio forests

Chaves,

Rodríguez-Souilla,

Cellini

et al. 2024

NZJFS

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“…These sites were selected across places that had past harvesting activities following the Chilean colonization in the region during early twentieth century, which corresponded to low-intensity partial overstory harvests conducted above 30 years ago. Selected sites have had no further harvesting operations over the last decades, and include large tracts of untouched old-growth forests 44 intermixed with partially harvested forests 46 . In most forests of the region these partial harvests were practiced widely, but not with a specific silvicultural system in mind (i.e., no silvicultural methods were known at that time in the region).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, in many aspects these partial harvests likely had similar impacts as harvests operations applied in formal silvicultural systems 1 , e.g., in single tree or group selection cuttings 1 . Since N. pumilio and N. dombeyi naturally establish well in canopy gaps 47,48 , partial harvesting allowed the development of dense and vigorous tree regeneration especially in moist and humid forests 46 . Many harvested forests now appear to have more irregular structures and visually reflect typical multi-aged stands (Daniel Soto, personal observation).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A recent study showed that the region is relatively stable in terms of land use changes and anthropogenic influences over the last decades 45 . Therefore, the region contains forests that were partially harvested over 30 years ago intermixed with unharvested forests 46 . Having forests with different stand histories in close vicinity, and a wide range of climate conditions (e.g., mean annual precipitation ranging from 2508 mm in the west to 318 mm in the east within ~ 200 km distance) represents an exceptional opportunity to test the hypothesis of whether precipitation drives forest structural complexity in previously harvested and untreated forests using the well-established and validated LiDAR-based stand structural complexity index (SSCI) developed by Ehbrecht et al 16 .…”

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Increase in forest structural complexity along a precipitation gradient is mediated by partial harvests in temperate Patagonian forests

Soto,

Seidel,

Hernández-Moreno

et al. 2024

Sci Rep

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Increasing forest structural complexity is becoming a common goal in forestry worldwide. However, the lack of empirical quantification clouds its implementation. Here we quantified the long-term effects (> 30 y) of partial harvest on stand structural complexity and net primary productivity using the east–west precipitation gradient (318–2508 mm, mean annual precipitation-MAP) of western Patagonian as a study system. In this gradient, pairs of 1-ha plots on 20 sites (20 plots harvested and 20 plots unharvested) were installed. In each plot terrestrial laser scanning was used to quantify the stand structural complexity index (SSCI), and Sentinel satellite images to obtain the Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI: proxy of net primary productivity). Generalized linear mixed-effect models were used to relate SSCI to MAP and EVI to SSCI, with harvesting as indicator variable, and site as random variable (two plots nested to same precipitation). Results showed that harvested plots on mesic-to-humid sites (but not on dry sites) had higher SSCI and EVI values compared to unharvested plots, likely due to a greater vertical canopy packing. These results show the influence of precipitation on SSCI, which resulted in a more diversified stand structure and higher EVI. Such insights support site-specific management aimed to increase forest structural complexity.

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“…One crucial aspect of this new paradigm for forest management is that the approach can be scaled up to the landscape scale which can then be con gured as a complex adaptive system(Messier et al 2019;Mina et al 2021). With such a large proportion of forest cover represented by second-and old-growth forest, this approach represents an opportunity to conduct experiments on forest resiliency, resistance and adaptation to different continuous cover management strategies under different site conditions, and to implement a range of biodiversity conservation strategies(Soto et al 2022).…”

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confidence: 99%

Forest landscape dynamics after intentional large-scale fires in western Patagonia reveal unusual temperate forest recovery trends

et al. 2023

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ContextWestern Chilean Patagonia is an isolated temperate region with a proportion of IFL that was subjected to largescale res over 60 years ago. However, there is no empirical evaluation of the land cover dynamics to establish the forest loss and recovery rate and the effect on the landscape structure and function, and remanent IFL following the res. ObjectivesThe present study addressed the following questions: (1) What have been the main trends of the land cover dynamics between 1984-2018 after earlier res, and how have these trends shaped the spatial patterns and potential carbon stock of forests in the western Patagonia landscape? (2) What proportion of forest landscape remains intact following res in this region? MethodsWe selected the Coyhaique Province (1,231,910 ha) in western Chilean Patagonia as the study area. Land cover maps for three dates (1984, 2000, 2018) were used to evaluate the landscape dynamics after res. A map of persistence and change occurrence was made to estimate the IFL area over the 1984-2018 period. Landscape metrics were used to assess landscape structure change, and potential carbon stock was based on a literature review. ResultsFollowing res, the main land cover changes between 1984-2018 were loss of ~ 32,600 ha of old-growth forest and a recovery of ~ 69,000 ha of second-growth forest. The increase in second-growth forest area mainly resulted from trajectories originating from agricultural cover, which lost ~ 41% of the area. Despite these changes, ~ 61% of the area could potentially remain as IFL after res. Over the 1984-2018 period, a slight increase in fragmentation of old-growth forest, and a decline in second-growth forest were found. Coyhaique Province, experienced a slight increase (3.6%) in overall potential carbon stock maybe as a result of secondgrowth forest recovery. ConclusionsOur study provides key evidence for understanding spatial patterns of forest recovery following chronic res, which is crucial for predicting forest landscape resistance to anthropogenic disturbances in one of the few temperate regions with forest recovery in the southern hemisphere.Coyhaique (name homonymous with the Province), which became the capital of the Aysén administrative region (Fig. 1). The city houses the largest population within Aysén (61,496, www.ine.cl), which concentrates pressures on land use, and rewood and timber extraction in the forests, though representing a relatively low and stable anthropization during the last four decades (Hernández-Moreno et al. 2021). The study area has the fewest protected areas in western Patagonia (www.conaf.cl/conaf-en-regiones/aysen/) and is thus more exposed to landscape transformations. Spatial DataThe assessment of land cover change (LCC) was performed over a 34-year period between 1984 and 2018.Land cover maps were derived from satellite images (30 m pixel resolution) from the years 1984, 2000, and 2018. For each date, imagery from the following satellite products were used: Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper (5TM) for 1984, Landsat 7 Enhanced Them...

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Impacts of varying precipitation regimes upon the structure, spatial patterns, and productivity of Nothofagus pumilio-dominated old-growth forests in Patagonia

Cited by 7 publications

References 85 publications

Shelterwood cut intensity determines recovery pathways of managed Nothofagus pumilio forests

Shelterwood cut intensity determines recovery pathways of managed Nothofagus pumilio forests

Increase in forest structural complexity along a precipitation gradient is mediated by partial harvests in temperate Patagonian forests

Forest landscape dynamics after intentional large-scale fires in western Patagonia reveal unusual temperate forest recovery trends

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