Manipulating Mammal Herbivory in SouthPatagonia Forests: Effects on Plant SpeciesAssemblage, Survival and Short-Term GrowthResponse of Nothofagus antarctica Seedlings (10) (PDF) Manipulating mammal herbivory in South Patagonia forests: effects on plant

SOLER R; BUSTAMANTE G; ARENA M; BLAZINA A

Conferencia; The 1st International Electronic Conference on Forests ? Forests for a Better Future: Sustainability, Innovation, Interdisciplinarity,; 2020

Livestock browsing and large wild herbivores in forested areas have been perceived asconflicting with silviculture and forest conservation for long time. However, silvopastoral systemsin native forests entail livestock manipulation in space and time, to reduce negative impacts onforest structure and dynamics. In 2014, we established eight 15×15m fences (and the respectivecontrol plots with browsing) in four Nothofagus antarctica (ñire) silvopastoral sites in Tierra delFuego Island, to protect tree seedlings and vegetation from cattle and guanaco browsing. After fivegrowing seasons, the exclusion treatment favored regeneration of ñire by reducing browsingpressure while increasing seedling growth rate, though the effect on seedling survival was weak.Soil moisture increased while soil compaction decreased over years in all fields, though the fenceseffect was weak. Palatable forbs (e.g., Taraxacum sp., Osmorhiza sp.) and grasses (e.g., Agrostis sp.,Bromus unioloides) increased much more in abundance and height than ñire seedlings within fences.Thus, the use of exclusion treatments to manipulate browsing impact enhance short-term growth ofñire regeneration in south Patagonia forests used for cattle production. However, a negative effectby competing understory vegetation in fences probably also occur in the long term.