Setting restoration priorities for burned Nothofagus forests in Southern Argentina: impact of fire severity on soil properties and seedling growth

RUGGIRELLO, MJ; SOLER ESTEBAN, R; LENCINAS, MV

Ginebra

Congreso; INTECOL 2022. Frontiers in Ecology: Science & Society.; 2022

Wildfire has historically been absent across Tierra del Fuego (southern Argentina). The innate ability of native Nothofagus forests to recover after wildfire is largely unknown. We established an experiment to determine the relationship between fire severity, pH and seedling growth and survival in Ushuaia, Argentina. We collected and placed burned (lightly and severely) and unburned soils from areas impacted by a historic (1940’s) and recent wildfire (2019) in planting pots. We then transplanted 200 lenga (Nothofagus pumilio) and 200 ñire (N. antarctica) seedlings into the pots. Seedlings were divided between an experimental garden and shade tunnel. Survival and height were recorded at the beginning and end of the 2021 growing season. Means were compared via GLMMs. For both lenga (F=10.48; p=0.0001) and ñire (F=14.33; p