Relationships among livestock, structure, and regeneration in Chilean Austral Macrozone temperate forests

A Macrozone is a socioecological region with shared geographic and demographic characteristics. Within the Chilean Austral Macrozone (43° to 56° SL), the native temperate forests serve as a crucial resource, offering multiple ecosystem services to local communities. These forests significantly suppo...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Alejandro Huertas Herrera, Mónica D.R. Toro-Manríquez, Jaime Salinas Sanhueza, Fernanda Rivas Guíñez, María Vanessa Lencinas, Guillermo Martínez Pastur
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2023-09-01
Series:Trees, Forests and People
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666719323000584
_version_ 1797743417464193024
author Alejandro Huertas Herrera
Mónica D.R. Toro-Manríquez
Jaime Salinas Sanhueza
Fernanda Rivas Guíñez
María Vanessa Lencinas
Guillermo Martínez Pastur
author_facet Alejandro Huertas Herrera
Mónica D.R. Toro-Manríquez
Jaime Salinas Sanhueza
Fernanda Rivas Guíñez
María Vanessa Lencinas
Guillermo Martínez Pastur
author_sort Alejandro Huertas Herrera
collection DOAJ
description A Macrozone is a socioecological region with shared geographic and demographic characteristics. Within the Chilean Austral Macrozone (43° to 56° SL), the native temperate forests serve as a crucial resource, offering multiple ecosystem services to local communities. These forests significantly support animal husbandry practices involving cattle, horses and sheep. However, introducing these exotic species affects natural regeneration and compromises their long-term sustainability. This study proposes a new classification of the temperate forests in the Chilean Austral Macrozone based on structure parameters and determine their relationships with animal husbandry and natural regeneration. Data were obtained from Chile's National Forest Inventory (NFI) (2001–2010), including 195 inventory plots (500 m2) with 21 tree species. We redefined the forest categories described in NFI according to the proportional basal area of each tree species at each plot. We used two levels of analysis: forest composition (Level 1), which includes general categories such as mono-specific (dominated by a single tree species), bi-specific (dominated by two tree species), and multi-specific forests (dominated by multiple tree species), and forest type (Level 2), which includes specific species (e.g., Nothofagus pumilio) or species groups (e.g., N. pumilio - N. dombeyi) with economic relevance. We evaluated the data using univariate and multivariate analyses. We found 18 forest types in the Austral Macrozone, in contrast to the three traditionally recognized forest types used in the NFI (e.g., lenga, evergreen, coihue de Magallanes). Livestock was observed in all forest types, where Nothofagus forests showed that regeneration in N. antarctica and N. pumilio were higher with livestock than without livestock breeding (Hedges' g > 0.51). The natural regeneration of the studied forests was influenced by animal husbandry, environmental variables (bioclimatic and topographic factors), and forest structure. Our data suggested the importance of using more forest types than the three classics to generate tools or recommendations that are more focused on the particularities of each one. The classification must be based on forest parameters obtained during NFI. The proposed forest type classification reflects the complexity and richness of the forests in a better way, which could improve forest management and the development of public policies related to climate change and sustainability. Finally, although livestock pressure was observed in all forest types, the impact over some areas (e.g., N. antarctica) needs special attention in the forest management and conservation planning for the Chilean Austral Macrozone.
first_indexed 2024-03-12T14:55:11Z
format Article
id doaj.art-fb475313e14748719f5994c053cfd921
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2666-7193
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-12T14:55:11Z
publishDate 2023-09-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Trees, Forests and People
spelling doaj.art-fb475313e14748719f5994c053cfd9212023-08-15T04:04:31ZengElsevierTrees, Forests and People2666-71932023-09-0113100426Relationships among livestock, structure, and regeneration in Chilean Austral Macrozone temperate forestsAlejandro Huertas Herrera0Mónica D.R. Toro-Manríquez1Jaime Salinas Sanhueza2Fernanda Rivas Guíñez3María Vanessa Lencinas4Guillermo Martínez Pastur5Grupo Ecología Forestal, Centro de Investigación en Ecosistemas de la Patagonia (CIEP), Camino Baguales s/n Km 4, Coyhaique, Chile; Corresponding author.Grupo Ecología Forestal, Centro de Investigación en Ecosistemas de la Patagonia (CIEP), Camino Baguales s/n Km 4, Coyhaique, ChileInstituto Forestal (INFOR) Sede Patagonia, Camino Coyhaique Alto Km 4.5 Coyhaique, ChileGrupo Ecología Forestal, Centro de Investigación en Ecosistemas de la Patagonia (CIEP), Camino Baguales s/n Km 4, Coyhaique, Chile; Facultad de Agronomía e Ingeniería Forestal, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Avenida Vicuña Mackenna (4860) Santiago, ChileLaboratorio de Recursos Agroforestales, Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC CONICET), Houssay 200 (9410) Ushuaia, ArgentinaLaboratorio de Recursos Agroforestales, Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC CONICET), Houssay 200 (9410) Ushuaia, ArgentinaA Macrozone is a socioecological region with shared geographic and demographic characteristics. Within the Chilean Austral Macrozone (43° to 56° SL), the native temperate forests serve as a crucial resource, offering multiple ecosystem services to local communities. These forests significantly support animal husbandry practices involving cattle, horses and sheep. However, introducing these exotic species affects natural regeneration and compromises their long-term sustainability. This study proposes a new classification of the temperate forests in the Chilean Austral Macrozone based on structure parameters and determine their relationships with animal husbandry and natural regeneration. Data were obtained from Chile's National Forest Inventory (NFI) (2001–2010), including 195 inventory plots (500 m2) with 21 tree species. We redefined the forest categories described in NFI according to the proportional basal area of each tree species at each plot. We used two levels of analysis: forest composition (Level 1), which includes general categories such as mono-specific (dominated by a single tree species), bi-specific (dominated by two tree species), and multi-specific forests (dominated by multiple tree species), and forest type (Level 2), which includes specific species (e.g., Nothofagus pumilio) or species groups (e.g., N. pumilio - N. dombeyi) with economic relevance. We evaluated the data using univariate and multivariate analyses. We found 18 forest types in the Austral Macrozone, in contrast to the three traditionally recognized forest types used in the NFI (e.g., lenga, evergreen, coihue de Magallanes). Livestock was observed in all forest types, where Nothofagus forests showed that regeneration in N. antarctica and N. pumilio were higher with livestock than without livestock breeding (Hedges' g > 0.51). The natural regeneration of the studied forests was influenced by animal husbandry, environmental variables (bioclimatic and topographic factors), and forest structure. Our data suggested the importance of using more forest types than the three classics to generate tools or recommendations that are more focused on the particularities of each one. The classification must be based on forest parameters obtained during NFI. The proposed forest type classification reflects the complexity and richness of the forests in a better way, which could improve forest management and the development of public policies related to climate change and sustainability. Finally, although livestock pressure was observed in all forest types, the impact over some areas (e.g., N. antarctica) needs special attention in the forest management and conservation planning for the Chilean Austral Macrozone.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666719323000584Native forestsNothofagus pumilioNothofagus antarcticaAnimal husbandryPatagonia
spellingShingle Alejandro Huertas Herrera
Mónica D.R. Toro-Manríquez
Jaime Salinas Sanhueza
Fernanda Rivas Guíñez
María Vanessa Lencinas
Guillermo Martínez Pastur
Relationships among livestock, structure, and regeneration in Chilean Austral Macrozone temperate forests
Trees, Forests and People
Native forests
Nothofagus pumilio
Nothofagus antarctica
Animal husbandry
Patagonia
title Relationships among livestock, structure, and regeneration in Chilean Austral Macrozone temperate forests
title_full Relationships among livestock, structure, and regeneration in Chilean Austral Macrozone temperate forests
title_fullStr Relationships among livestock, structure, and regeneration in Chilean Austral Macrozone temperate forests
title_full_unstemmed Relationships among livestock, structure, and regeneration in Chilean Austral Macrozone temperate forests
title_short Relationships among livestock, structure, and regeneration in Chilean Austral Macrozone temperate forests
title_sort relationships among livestock structure and regeneration in chilean austral macrozone temperate forests
topic Native forests
Nothofagus pumilio
Nothofagus antarctica
Animal husbandry
Patagonia
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666719323000584
work_keys_str_mv AT alejandrohuertasherrera relationshipsamonglivestockstructureandregenerationinchileanaustralmacrozonetemperateforests
AT monicadrtoromanriquez relationshipsamonglivestockstructureandregenerationinchileanaustralmacrozonetemperateforests
AT jaimesalinassanhueza relationshipsamonglivestockstructureandregenerationinchileanaustralmacrozonetemperateforests
AT fernandarivasguinez relationshipsamonglivestockstructureandregenerationinchileanaustralmacrozonetemperateforests
AT mariavanessalencinas relationshipsamonglivestockstructureandregenerationinchileanaustralmacrozonetemperateforests
AT guillermomartinezpastur relationshipsamonglivestockstructureandregenerationinchileanaustralmacrozonetemperateforests