INVESTIGADORES
MARTINEZ PASTUR Guillermo Jose
artículos
Título:
Effectiveness of fencing and hunting to control Lama guanicoe browsing damage: Implications for Nothofagus pumilio regeneration in harvested forests.
Autor/es:
G MARTÍNEZ PASTUR; R SOLER ESTEBAN; H IVANCICH; MV LENCINAS; HA BAHAMONDE; PL PERI
Revista:
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
Editorial:
ACADEMIC PRESS LTD-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
Referencias:
Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2016 vol. 168 p. 165 - 174
ISSN:
0301-4797
Resumen:
Browsing damage by native ungulates is often to be considered one of the reasons of regeneration failurein Nothofagus pumilio silvicultural systems. Fencing and hunting in forests at regeneration phase havebeen proposed to mitigate browsing effects. This study aims to determine effectiveness of these controlmethods in harvested forests, evaluating browsing damage over regeneration, as well as climate-relatedconstraints (freezing or desiccation). Forest structure and regeneration plots were established in twoexclosures against native ungulates (Lama guanicoe) by wire fences in the Chilean portion of Tierra delFuego island, where tree regeneration density, growth, abiotic damage and quality (multi-stems andbase/stem deformation) were assessed. Exclosures did not influence regeneration density (at the initialstage with < 1.3 m high, and at the advanced stage with >1.3 m high). However, sapling height at 10-years old was significantly lower outside (40e50 cm high) than inside exclosures (80e100 cm), and alsoincreased their annual height growth, probably as a hunting effect. Likewise, quality was better insideexclosures. Alongside browsing, abiotic conditions negatively influenced sapling quality in the regenerationphase (20%e28% of all seedlings), but greatly to taller plants (as those from inside exclosure). Thishighlights the importance of considering climatic factors when analysing browsing effects. For best results,control of guanaco in recently harvested areas by fencing should be applied in combination with areduction of guanaco density through continuous hunting. The benefits of mitigation actions (fencingand hunting) on regeneration growth may shorten the regeneration phase period in shelterwood cuttingforests (30e50% less time), but incremental costs must be analysed in the framework of managementplanning by means of long-term studies.