INVESTIGADORES
MARTINEZ PASTUR Guillermo Jose
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
Forest management planning in south Patagonia: Biodiversity conservation strategies using GUIDOS software
Autor/es:
G MARTÍNEZ PASTUR; MV LENCINAS; R SOLER ESTEBAN; H IVANCICH; P PERI; R VUKASOVIC
Lugar:
BRASIL
Reunión:
Congreso; LATIN AMERICAN IALE CONGRESS; 2009
Resumen:
Introduction: Nothofagus pumilio forests constitute the most important forest resource in South Argentina and Chile. The sawmill industry bases its production on the harvesting of old-growth stands. On Tierra del Fuego (Argentina), conducting forest management plans prior to harvesting is compulsory. They have a time validity of five years and only include the study of target stands and timber yields to be harvested. Recently, however, biodiversity conservation has been included as one of the management objectives, leading to the design of new silviculture practices to minimize these impacts. On the other hand, beavers (Castor canadensis) are the main agent of habitat-level changes in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, making it necessary consider their control and management. The availability of GIS software (e.g., Arcview), high resolution satellite (e.g., QuickBird) and DTM images (digital terrain models), as well as landscape analysis software (e.g., GUIDOS - Graphical User Interface for the Description of Image Objects and Their Shapes) allow an important opportunity to improve forest management planning. Therefore, we set out to describe the planning efforts in Tierra del Fuego (Argentina) and the potential to use these tools to improve biodiversity conservation strategies. Methods: One thousand hectares in the central zone of Tierra del Fuego (54º18’ SL, 67º49’ WL) were selected. Forest management planning, high resolution satellite and DTM images, as well as GUIDOS outputs were included into a GIS. A landscape analysis was done considering the timber forests and the associated non-timber environments, beaver impacts and landscape changes. A comparative analysis was conducted describing the improvement in the planning due to the use of these different tools. Results: Timber forests represented 61% of the landscape, while 38% were associated environments (open forests, stream sides, peat-lands or grasslands) and 1% small lakes. Beavers transformed 4% of the original forests into meadows and ponds. Forest management planning included only high yield timber stands, and road design was carried out according to economic variables. Roads affected associated non-timber environments as well as connectivity components of the forest landscape. The use of DTM, landscape analysis and GUIDOS outputs allowed the redefinition of new timber stands and road design, thereby improving biodiversity conservation of the managed stands at landscape level. Discussion: At present, subantarctic forest management has been designed solely according to economic variables without considering ecologic factors. However, biodiversity conservation strategies can be improved using the described tools, decreasing the impacts at landscape level, mainly by road construction. GUIDOS outputs highlight connectivity components of the landscape which are ignored in the previous design and analysis of timber management systems.