Nothofagus pumilio regeneration failure following wildfire in the sub-Antarctic forests of Tierra del Fuego, Argentina
Abstract Wildfires on the island of Tierra del Fuego in southern Argentina are not considered to have been a historic driver of forest dynamics. However, dramatic increases in the human population of the island over the last half-century have greatly increased fire ignition sources and thus the freq...
Published in: | Forestry: An International Journal of Forest Research |
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Oxford University Press (OUP)
2023
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/forestry/cpad028 https://academic.oup.com/forestry/advance-article-pdf/doi/10.1093/forestry/cpad028/50561282/cpad028.pdf |
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croxfordunivpr:10.1093/forestry/cpad028 2024-01-07T09:38:26+01:00 Nothofagus pumilio regeneration failure following wildfire in the sub-Antarctic forests of Tierra del Fuego, Argentina Ruggirello, Matthew Joseph Bustamante, Gimena N Soler, Rosina M Ewald, Michael Argentine National Scientific and Technical Research Council National Agency for Scientific Promotion Rufford Foundation International Association of Wildland Fire 2023 http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/forestry/cpad028 https://academic.oup.com/forestry/advance-article-pdf/doi/10.1093/forestry/cpad028/50561282/cpad028.pdf en eng Oxford University Press (OUP) https://academic.oup.com/pages/standard-publication-reuse-rights Forestry: An International Journal of Forest Research ISSN 0015-752X 1464-3626 Forestry journal-article 2023 croxfordunivpr https://doi.org/10.1093/forestry/cpad028 2023-12-08T09:54:04Z Abstract Wildfires on the island of Tierra del Fuego in southern Argentina are not considered to have been a historic driver of forest dynamics. However, dramatic increases in the human population of the island over the last half-century have greatly increased fire ignition sources and thus the frequency of wildfires in the region. Lenga (Nothofagus pumilio (Poep. et Endl.) Krasser) forests support diverse ecosystem services by providing habitat for endemic flora and fauna and also represent a valuable timber resource for the forest industry of Tierra del Fuego. Evaluating the impact of forest fires on lenga regeneration is important not only because lenga is a native, slow-growing species that seems to lack adaptations that would allow it to recover rapidly after fire, but also because low tree species diversity on the island of Tierra del Fuego means lenga post-fire regeneration failure may lead to ecosystem state shifts. To determine how site characteristics and fire-impacted variables modulate post-fire regeneration densities and spatial patterns in lenga forests, we installed 192 plots (160 burned, 32 unburned) in which we measured site-characteristic (e.g. aspect, elevation) and fire-impacted (e.g. basal area, canopy cover) variables and tallied seedlings and saplings. Regeneration densities were significantly lower in burned than unburned plots. This was exacerbated with increasing distance from the unburned forest edge. Increasing distance to live trees that either survived fire or were outside the burned area negatively impacted regeneration as well. Time since fire negatively affected sapling, but not seedling counts. We concluded that lenga regeneration in the interior of burned areas is largely absent, delaying and potentially preventing forest recovery. These interior areas of burned lenga forests are unlikely to regenerate closed-canopy tree cover through passive restoration alone. Active restoration may be needed in these critical areas where live legacy trees are not present. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Tierra del Fuego Oxford University Press (via Crossref) Antarctic Argentina Forestry: An International Journal of Forest Research |
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Open Polar |
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Oxford University Press (via Crossref) |
op_collection_id |
croxfordunivpr |
language |
English |
topic |
Forestry |
spellingShingle |
Forestry Ruggirello, Matthew Joseph Bustamante, Gimena N Soler, Rosina M Nothofagus pumilio regeneration failure following wildfire in the sub-Antarctic forests of Tierra del Fuego, Argentina |
topic_facet |
Forestry |
description |
Abstract Wildfires on the island of Tierra del Fuego in southern Argentina are not considered to have been a historic driver of forest dynamics. However, dramatic increases in the human population of the island over the last half-century have greatly increased fire ignition sources and thus the frequency of wildfires in the region. Lenga (Nothofagus pumilio (Poep. et Endl.) Krasser) forests support diverse ecosystem services by providing habitat for endemic flora and fauna and also represent a valuable timber resource for the forest industry of Tierra del Fuego. Evaluating the impact of forest fires on lenga regeneration is important not only because lenga is a native, slow-growing species that seems to lack adaptations that would allow it to recover rapidly after fire, but also because low tree species diversity on the island of Tierra del Fuego means lenga post-fire regeneration failure may lead to ecosystem state shifts. To determine how site characteristics and fire-impacted variables modulate post-fire regeneration densities and spatial patterns in lenga forests, we installed 192 plots (160 burned, 32 unburned) in which we measured site-characteristic (e.g. aspect, elevation) and fire-impacted (e.g. basal area, canopy cover) variables and tallied seedlings and saplings. Regeneration densities were significantly lower in burned than unburned plots. This was exacerbated with increasing distance from the unburned forest edge. Increasing distance to live trees that either survived fire or were outside the burned area negatively impacted regeneration as well. Time since fire negatively affected sapling, but not seedling counts. We concluded that lenga regeneration in the interior of burned areas is largely absent, delaying and potentially preventing forest recovery. These interior areas of burned lenga forests are unlikely to regenerate closed-canopy tree cover through passive restoration alone. Active restoration may be needed in these critical areas where live legacy trees are not present. |
author2 |
Ewald, Michael Argentine National Scientific and Technical Research Council National Agency for Scientific Promotion Rufford Foundation International Association of Wildland Fire |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ruggirello, Matthew Joseph Bustamante, Gimena N Soler, Rosina M |
author_facet |
Ruggirello, Matthew Joseph Bustamante, Gimena N Soler, Rosina M |
author_sort |
Ruggirello, Matthew Joseph |
title |
Nothofagus pumilio regeneration failure following wildfire in the sub-Antarctic forests of Tierra del Fuego, Argentina |
title_short |
Nothofagus pumilio regeneration failure following wildfire in the sub-Antarctic forests of Tierra del Fuego, Argentina |
title_full |
Nothofagus pumilio regeneration failure following wildfire in the sub-Antarctic forests of Tierra del Fuego, Argentina |
title_fullStr |
Nothofagus pumilio regeneration failure following wildfire in the sub-Antarctic forests of Tierra del Fuego, Argentina |
title_full_unstemmed |
Nothofagus pumilio regeneration failure following wildfire in the sub-Antarctic forests of Tierra del Fuego, Argentina |
title_sort |
nothofagus pumilio regeneration failure following wildfire in the sub-antarctic forests of tierra del fuego, argentina |
publisher |
Oxford University Press (OUP) |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/forestry/cpad028 https://academic.oup.com/forestry/advance-article-pdf/doi/10.1093/forestry/cpad028/50561282/cpad028.pdf |
geographic |
Antarctic Argentina |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Argentina |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Tierra del Fuego |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Tierra del Fuego |
op_source |
Forestry: An International Journal of Forest Research ISSN 0015-752X 1464-3626 |
op_rights |
https://academic.oup.com/pages/standard-publication-reuse-rights |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1093/forestry/cpad028 |
container_title |
Forestry: An International Journal of Forest Research |
_version_ |
1787423160357879808 |