Variable retention harvesting influences belowground plant-fungal interactions of Nothofagus pumilio seedlings in forests of southern Patagonia

HEWITT, REBECCA E.; TAYLOR, DONALD LEE; HOLLINGSWORTH, TERESA N.; ANDERSON, CHRISTOPHER B.; MARTÍNEZ PASTUR, GUILLERMO

PeerJ

PeerJ

Año: 2018 vol. 6

Background. The post-harvest recovery and sustained productivity of Nothofaguspumilio forests in Tierra del Fuego may be affected by the abundance and compositionof ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF). Timber harvesting alters EMF community structurein many managed forests, but the impacts of harvesting can vary with the managementstrategy. The implementation of variable retention (VR) management can maintain,increase, or decrease the diversity of many species, but the effects of VR on EMF in theforests of southern Patagonia have not been studied, nor has the role of EMF in theregeneration process of these forests.