Tectonic ecology of the temperate forests of South America and New Zealand

VEBLEN, T.T.; GONZALEZ, M.E.; STEWART, G.H.; KITZBERGER, T.; BRUNET, J.

New Zealand Journal of Botany

RSNZ PUBLISHING

Lugar: Auckland; Año: 2016 vol. 54 p. 223 - 246

0028-825X

Ecological disturbances triggered by earthquakes and volcaniceruptions are of fundamental importance in structuring thetemperate forests of southwestern South America and NewZealand. We review studies of the ecological effects of thesetectonic phenomena and how they have been central to progressin the modern development of forest ecology in both regions.Studies of tectonic influences on the dynamics of southerntemperate rainforests of Chile and New Zealand published in the1970s and early 1980s contributed prominently to the shift awayfrom the equilibrium paradigms dominant globally in the 1960sand towards modern non-equilibrium frameworks of forestdynamics. Empirical studies of tectonic ecology in thesetemperate forests in combination with critical evaluations ofearlier successional theory have significantly advancedunderstanding of the roles of coarse-scale disturbance in thedynamics of forests in southwestern South America and NewZealand. Recognition that cohort forest structures triggered byexogenous disturbances such as wind storms and tectonic eventsare the norm rather than all-aged structures has been offundamental importance to understanding the dynamics of theseforests. The non-equilibrium patch dynamics framework forinterpreting forest structure and dynamics bolstered by tectonicecology studies in southern South America and New Zealand wasof key importance in refining older views of these forests as beingout of equilibrium with contemporary climate, revisingunderstanding of the effects of introduced browsing animals onforest structure, and guiding the development of appropriateforest management practices.