Understory plant dynamics following a wildfire in southern Patagonia

Ruggirello, Matthew Joseph; Soler, Rosina; Bustamante, Gimena; Lencinas, María Vanessa

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2022.120606

Cited by 9 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…N. pumilio in Tierra del Fuego has been shown to be highly sensitive to wildfire and struggles to successfully recolonize burned areas (Ruggirello et al, 2023b). Post-fire regeneration of N. antarctica after a 2008 wildfire was also not as abundant as expected (Ruggirello et al, 2023a). Further study is still needed to more fully describe the post-fire regeneration trends of Nothofagus species in Tierra del Fuego.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Drivers of post-fire Nothofagus antarctica forest recovery in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina

et al. 2023

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IntroductionLarge wildfires were historically absent in the forests of Tierra del Fuego, southern Argentina. This has changed in recent decades as humans have increased ignition sources, and warmer, drier periods have fueled large, severe wildfires. As a result of its location at an extreme southern latitude, Tierra del Fuego has very low tree species diversity. One of the region's dominant tree species, Nothofagus antarctica, is believed to have traits that may make it resilient to wildfire (e.g., the ability to resprout prolifically).MethodsThis study examined post-fire N. antarctica regeneration across an environmental and time-since-fire gradient. Plots were established in burned areas (n = 160) and unburned controls (n = 32) in and around two wildfires that occurred circa 1940 and in 2019. Seedling/resprout and sapling regeneration densities, as well as site characteristics (e.g., slope) and fire-impacted variables (e.g., distance to mature live trees), were measured.ResultsSeedling and resprout densities were lower in burned plots than in controls, with this trend being exacerbated in the 2019 fire with increasing distance from mature live trees. Regeneration generally occurs in clumps and principally through sprouting from live and top-killed trees, with not all top-killed trees having resprouted. Seedling and resprout densities were most strongly impacted by time since fire, distance to mature live trees and post-fire canopy cover. Sapling densities were modulated by slope, time since fire, and distance to mature live trees.DiscussionDespite lower regeneration densities in recently burned plots and less live basal area and canopy cover in older burned plots compared to unburned controls, burned stands may be on a trajectory to recover pre-fire characteristics, although this recovery is spatially variable. However, full recovery has not occurred 80 years after the 1940's fire. Currently, these burned areas resemble grasslands or savannas. They do not provide the habitat or ecosystem services that denser forests do and may require active restoration to fully recover their pre-fire characteristics.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Drivers of post-fire Nothofagus antarctica forest recovery in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina

et al. 2023

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“…Los bosques subantárticos de Nothofagus no están adaptados a los regímenes de incendios forestales (Cavallero et al, 2015; Valenzuela et al, 2016), en contraste con otros bosques templados, por ejemplo, los bosques de Cupressus y Pinus del norte o los bosques australianos de Myrtaceae (Keeley & Fotheringham, 2014). Por lo tanto, los efectos del fuego antropogénico en las comunidades vegetales a esta latitud no se han estudiado ampliamente (pero véase Ruggirello et al, 2022).…”

Section: Introductionunclassified

Influencia de las condiciones ambientales y del tamaño inicial de los renovales en la supervivencia y el crecimiento de Nothofagus: Implicaciones para la restauración de bosques subantárticos quemados

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Argañaraz

Preiß‐Daimler

et al. 2023

Austral Ecology

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ResumenLos bosques subantárticos de las montañas fueguinas son consideradas una de las pocas áreas silvestres que quedan en el planeta; sin embargo, las perturbaciones humanas como incendios forestales, especies exóticas, etc. agravan su degradación. En 2012, se inició un incendio de origen humano en una remota zona de bosque y montaña, y dos años después comenzó un proyecto de reforestación para restaurar el dosel natural. Los renovales de la especie nativa de árbol Nothofagus se obtuvieron de zonas no perturbadas utilizando el método de raíz desnuda. En este estudio se evaluó la influencia de (1) los macroambientes (considerando la topografía natural y la fisonomía de la vegetación) y microambientes (topografía, cobertura del dosel, sustrato y cobertura del sotobosque) afectados por el fuego; y (2) el tamaño de extracción de los renovales (tamaño inicial), sobre la supervivencia y el crecimiento de los renovales plantados, a lo largo de 5 años. La supervivencia total de los renovales fue del 41,4%, con una tasa media de crecimiento de 8,46 cm año−1. La supervivencia y el crecimiento fueron influenciados por las variables estudiadas. A nivel de macroambiente, los renovales mostraron mayor éxito en zonas bien drenadas, mientras que a nivel de microambiente los renovales mostraron mejor desempeño en los que contribuyen a retener la humedad del suelo y evitar la evapotranspiración. Concluimos que las características ambientales influyen diferencialmente dependiendo de la escala de análisis. Para restaurar bosques templados quemados aplicando el método de repique directo a raíz desnuda, recomendamos utilizar renovales de Nothofagus de <40 cm de altura para obtener mejores resultados. En este sentido, demostramos la eficacia del método ya que se obtuvieron resultados comparables en otras experiencias de restauración. Este método también puede ser aplicado en áreas sin material de vivero y cuando la biología de las plantas sea apropiada, por ejemplo, el crecimiento superficial de los sistemas radiculares, la formación de bancos naturales de plántulas de árboles, etc. Este trabajo representa una de las pocas experiencias de restauración a medio plazo reportadas para los bosques más australes del planeta: nuestros hallazgos podrían ser aplicados en otras experiencias de reforestación, logrando mejoras notables en el proceso de recuperación.

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“…The sub‐Antarctic Nothofagus forests are not adapted to wildfire regimes (Cavallero et al, 2015; Valenzuela et al, 2016), in contrast to other temperate forests, for example northern Cupressus and Pinus forests or Australian Myrtaceae forests (Keeley & Fotheringham, 2014). Therefore, the effects of anthropogenic fire on plant communities at this latitude have not been extensively studied (but see Ruggirello et al, 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of environmental conditions and initial sapling size in Nothofagus survival and growth: Implications for restoration of burnt sub‐Antarctic forests

Mestre¹,

Argañaraz

Preiß‐Daimler

et al. 2022

Austral Ecology

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The sub‐Antarctic forests in Tierra del Fuego mountains are considered one of the few remaining wilderness areas on the planet; however, human disturbances like wildfires, exotic species, and so forth exacerbate their degradation. In 2012, a human‐caused wildfire started in a remote forest‐mountain area, and 2 years after that, a reforestation project began to restore the natural canopy layer. Saplings of the native Nothofagus trees were obtained through the bare root method from undisturbed areas. In this study, we evaluated the influence of (1) macro‐ (considering natural topography and vegetation physiognomy) and micro‐environments (topography, canopy cover, substrate, and understory cover) affected by fire; and (2) the extraction size of the saplings (initial size), on survival and growth of planted saplings, over 5 years. Total sapling survival was 41.4% with a mean growth rate of 8.46 cm year−1. Survival and growth were influenced by the studied variables. At a macro‐environment level, tree saplings showed higher success in well‐drained zones, meanwhile at the micro‐environment level saplings performed better in those that contribute to retain soil moisture and avoiding evapotranspiration. We conclude that environmental features influence differentially depending on the scale of analysis. To restore burnt temperate forests applying the bare root method, we recommended using Nothofagus saplings <40 cm tall for better results. In this sense, we demonstrated the effectiveness of the method since comparable results were obtained in other restoration experiences. This method can also be applied in areas without nursery material, when the biology of tagged plants was appropriated, for example shallow growth of root systems, formation of natural tree seedling banks. This work represents one of the few medium‐term restoration experiences reported for the southernmost forests of the planet: our findings could be applied in other reforestation experiences, making noticeable improvements in the recovery process.

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Understory plant dynamics following a wildfire in southern Patagonia

Cited by 9 publications

References 40 publications

Drivers of post-fire Nothofagus antarctica forest recovery in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina

Drivers of post-fire Nothofagus antarctica forest recovery in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina

Influencia de las condiciones ambientales y del tamaño inicial de los renovales en la supervivencia y el crecimiento de Nothofagus: Implicaciones para la restauración de bosques subantárticos quemados

Influence of environmental conditions and initial sapling size in Nothofagus survival and growth: Implications for restoration of burnt sub‐Antarctic forests

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