Conservation values of understory vascular plants in even- and uneven-aged Nothofagus antarctica forests

• Published in: Biodiversity and Conservation
• Main Authors: Martínez Pastur, Guillermo J., Rosas, Yamina M., Cellini, Juan M., Barrera, Marcelo D., Toro Manríquez, Mónica Dr, Huertas Herrera, Alejandro, Favoretti Bondar, Santiago, Lencinas, María V., Peri, Pablo L.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2020
• Subjects: Conservation values; Nothofagus; Patagonia; Understory plants; Uneven-aged and even-aged forests; Argentina; Antarc*; Antarctica; Tierra del Fuego
• Online Access: https://curis.ku.dk/portal/da/publications/conservation-values-of-understory-vascular-plants-in-even-and-unevenaged-nothofagus-antarctica-forests(ad10cfdc-fe49-43fa-abbf-1586efb3de6a).html; https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-020-02049-8; http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85091479773&partnerID=8YFLogxK

Usually, stands with aging trees are considered forests with higher conservation values, regardless their structural diversity and other functional attributes. Natural stands present a wide range of age structures, from even-aged stands growing at different development growth phases (e.g. CO = stands at initial or final optimum development growth phase, MD = stands at mature or decaying development growth phases) to uneven-aged stands with mixed development growth phases (e.g. UOG = stands combining mature or decaying development growth phases with initial or final optimum development growth phases, UMD = stands combining only mature and decaying development growth phases). The aim of this work was to compare richness and cover of understory vascular plants of even- and uneven-aged stands of Nothofagus antarctica (ñire) forests in Tierra del Fuego (Argentina), and relate these characteristics with abiotic, soil and forest structure variables. A total of 75 stands were sampled across the natural range distribution of the forests, where understory (point intercept method), forest structure (angle count sampling and eye-fish photos) and environmental (soil) variables were measured. 17 one-way ANOVAs were conducted using Tukey test at p < 0.05 to compare the means. Among forest structure and environmental variables, cover (F = 4.3, p = 0.007), radiation (F = 4.4, p = 0.006), phosphorous (F = 3.9, p = 0.012), tree density (F = 10.3, p < 0.001), tree diameter (F = 10.3, p < 0.001) and stand growth (F = 4.9, p = 0.004) showed significant differences, and in general with a positive or negative trend across the MD—UMD—UOG—CO gradient. Total (F = 6.5, p < 0.001) and native species richness of the understory (F = 7.2, p < 0.001) were significantly different among forest types, where UMD > UOG > MD > CO (17–28 total, and 13–24 native species, respectively). Neither exotic species richness (4–5 species) nor understory cover significantly changed among treatments (total, dicots, ferns and bryophytes). ...