INVESTIGADORES
LOYDI Alejandro
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
One tree one data - Science and management for controlling invasive woody plants in argentinean Pampas
Autor/es:
SERGIO ZALBA; YANNINA CUEVAS; ANA ELENA DE VILLALOBOS; CRISTINA SANHUEZA; ALEJANDRO LOYDI; PAOLA GERMAIN; MARTÍN AMODEO; LEANDRO DISPIGNO
Lugar:
Mar del Plata
Reunión:
Conferencia; 2nd World Conference on Biological Invasions and Ecosystem Functioning; 2011
Institución organizadora:
Grupo de Investigación y Educación en Temas Ambientales (GrIETA)
Resumen:
The costs of managing invasive species increase and the chances of successful control decrease with time since introduction or detection, so control actions must be implemented with urgency, usually in scenarios of scarce information. Our team has been managing invasive woody plants in remnants of Pampas grasslands of Argentina (Sierra de la Ventana, Buenos Aires) for the last twelve years by combining control actions organized on an adaptive management basis with more typical ecological experiments. Invasive plants were classified in three groups according to features that are relevant for control: pines (Pinus halepensis, P. radiata, wind-dispersed, ephemeral soil seed banks), brooms (Spartium junceum, Genista monspessulana, persistent seed banks) and fleshy-fruited Rosaceae (Prunus mahaleb, Rubus ulmifolius, Rosa spp., animal dispersed, ephemeral seed bank). Experimental control allowed the identification of best control techniques, minimal frequencies for repeating control, best time-schedule for control actions, need for complementary restoration actions, etc. Research was also focused on the main processes associated to the expansion or the containment of these species: disturbance (fire and grazing), vectors and pathways. Fire promotes the dissemination of pines and the germination of brooms, but kills the seeds of Rosaceae. Overgrazing is associated to an increase in pines recruitment, but could also be a tool for controlling some species. Adequately managed, fire frequency and herbivores pressure may act as powerful control tools. Combining science and management, while considering the perceptions of local people, has proven to be the best alternative to face the challenge of controlling invasive plants in our study area.