Post-fire resprouting capacity of dominant species in the Chaco seasonally dry forest, central Argentina.

JAUREGUIBERRY, PEDRO; CUCHIETTI, ANÍBAL; DÍAZ, SANDRA

Puerto Varas

Congreso; V Reunión Binacional de Ecología; 2013

Sociedad de Ecología de Chile; Asociación Argentina de Ecología

Resprouting is a common regeneration strategy among plants, since it allows surviving the loss of aerial biomass after different disturbances such as logging, herbivory and fire. Resprouting capacity can vary greatly between plant species, development stage or growth forms. Here, we studied post-fire resprouting capacity of 30 dominant species of different growth forms from the Chaco seasonally dry forest of central Argentina. Measurements were performed on individual plants one growing season after accidental fires in several field sites. The resprouting capacity of woody species was assessed by measuring the diameter of new sprouts (SD), number of new sprouts (SN) and diameter of main trunk (TD), used to calculate a resprouting capacity index: (SD/TD) x SN. The resprouting capacity of herbaceous species was calculated as the percentage of the plant crown which resprouted after the fire. In all cases, variables related to fire severity were measured and included in data analysis. All species were capable of resprouting one growing season after fire. Shrubs showed a greater resprouting capacity than trees, and plants with greater trunk diameter showed less resprouting capacity than those with thinner trunks, whether within species or between species. Herbaceous species, in particular, all showed high resprouting capacity, especially graminoids, but showed smaller variability between species than woody species. Characterizing the resprouting capacity of plants can be relevant for understanding and predicting vegetation dynamics, particularly species abundance patterns, extinction risk of certain species under a given disturbance regime and plant response to global change processes.