Post-Fire Ecological Restoration in Southern Temperate Forests of Nothofagus pumilio in Patagonia, Argentina

URRETAVIZCAYA M. F.; MONELOS L.; OYHARCABAL M.F.; ARRIOLA H.; PERI P.; DEFOSSÉ G.E.

Portland, Oregon

Congreso; Vth. International Fire Ecology and Management Congress; 2012

Association for Fire Ecology

Patagonian forests in Argentina cover about 3 million ha. Of them, 800 thousand ha correspond to Nothofagus pumilio (southern beech) forests. Nothofagus forests protect most watersheds of the region, and are exposed to grazing and fire disturbances. The re-establishment of Nothofagus after wildfire is negligible, because of the scarcity of seeds and the harsh post-fire environmental conditions. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential of plantations to restore former N. pumilio landscapes. Three fire-disturbed sites, located in a latitudinal gradient (Esquel, 42° 56´ S - 71° 30’ W, Monte Zeballos, 46° 49’ S -71° 54’ W, and Río Turbio, 51° 29’ S - 72° 19’ W), were selected for the study. The three sites receive less than 500 mm/yr of precipitation. In 2009, similarly grown, 3 years old N. pumilio seedlings were planted in 1 ha, large herbivores exclosures in Esquel (n=384) and Rio Turbio (n=352), in 2 x 2 rows of 24 seedlings each. In 2010, other planta­tions were done in Rio Turbio (n=250) and in Monte Zeballos (n=352), using 4 years old N. pumilio seedlings. To avoid browsing damages by the introduced European hare, each individual plant was protected by either polypropylene tubes (P), metallic mesh (MM), or plastic mesh (PM), leaving some plants unprotected as controls (CP). The different protection devices were randomly assigned among rows. The first growing season after plantation (2010) survival was similar (71%) for seedlings protected by P, MM, and PM in Esquel and Rio Turbio, respectively. In 2011, survival in Monte Zeballos was 65, 80 and 93 % for MM, P and PM, while in Rio Turbio it was 80, 90, 95, and 100 % for CP, MM, P, and PM, respectively. Results showed that seedling plantation may be a viable alternative to restore former Nothofagus pumilio landscapes.