Balancing water supply and old-growth forest conservation in the lowlands of south-central Chile through adaptive co-management

Coarse woody debris (CWD) are the necromass in wooded environments and comply with various ecosystems functions, such as seedling nursery, habitat other organisms, store carbon (C) and nutrients, etc.. Volume, necromass, and decay states of CWD dead in an old-growth temperate (OGTF) forest in Puyehue National Park, South-Central Chile were evaluated. In 10 plots of 900 m2 CWD was quantified (≥ 10 cm diameter), whose necromass classified using a scale of five categories/stages of decay, necromass (1 = lowest and 5 = highest degradation). The average forest density was 299 trees ha-1, 112 m2 ha-1 of basal area, and 2.395 m3 of stem volume. The upper arboreal stratum was dominated by N. betuloides. The greatest amount of CWD belonged to N. betuloides (95,2%), where logs (52,7%) and branches (35%), plant structures were present in greater numbers. The bulk of necromass found in advanced states of decomposition (level 4 and 5) with 56,5% and 34,1%, respectively. It was determined that the CWD volume was 632 m3 ha-1, representing a necromass of 321.5 Mg ha- 1. These results demonstrate that the old-growth temperate forests of southern Chile are significant reserves of coarse woody debris, which contributes to the biogeochemistry of these complex and remote ecosystems.

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Litterfall, litter decomposition and nitrogen mineralization in old-growth evergreen and secondary deciduous Nothofagus forests in south-central Chile

Revista chilena de historia natural ◽

10.4067/s0716-078x2011000100010 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 84 (1) ◽

pp. 125-141 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

JEROEN STAELENS ◽

NELE AMELOOT ◽

LEONARDO ALMONACID ◽

EVELYN PADILLA ◽

PASCAL BOECKX ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Litter Decomposition ◽

Nitrogen Mineralization ◽

Old Growth ◽

Central Chile ◽

South Central ◽

Nothofagus Forests

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Value-added forest management planning: A new perspective on old-growth forest conservation in the fire-prone boreal landscape of Canada

Forest Ecology and Management ◽

10.1016/j.foreco.2018.06.045 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 429 ◽

pp. 44-56 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Baburam Rijal ◽

Luc LeBel ◽

David L. Martell ◽

Sylvie Gauthier ◽

Jean-Martin Lussier ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Forest Management ◽

Forest Conservation ◽

Value Added ◽

Old Growth ◽

Management Planning ◽

Forest Management Planning ◽

Old Growth Forest ◽

New Perspective ◽

Boreal Landscape

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How long do Norway spruce snags stand? Evaluating four estimation methods

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/x03-248 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 34 (2) ◽

pp. 376-383 ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

Ken Olaf Storaunet ◽

Jørund Rolstad

Keyword(s):

Norway Spruce ◽

Bark Beetles ◽

Survival Function ◽

Estimation Methods ◽

Time Since Death ◽

Calculation Methods ◽

Old Growth ◽

Standing Time ◽

South Central ◽

Old Growth Forest

We estimated time from death to fall (standing time) of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) snags in a submountainous old-growth forest in south-central Norway, applying four calculation methods to 124 dendro chrono logically cross-dated still-standing snags and 64 fallen logs. The calculation methods consistently estimated expected standing time of snags at 2634 years, with a median of 1621 years and 20% of snags standing for >4858 years. The survival function from all methods took the approximate form of a negative exponential, with a 3%4% annual fall rate for snags. In the distribution of time since death, a small peak in dead trees 2030 years ago (late 1970s) coincides with a historic epidemic of bark beetles. The method using only time since death of still-standing snags appears to be the most feasible for estimating total standing time of snags in old-growth forests with constant tree mortality.

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Integrating socio-ecological dynamics into land use policy outcomes: A spatial scenario approach for native forest conservation in south-central Chile

Land Use Policy ◽

10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.01.042 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 84 ◽

pp. 31-42 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Daniela Manuschevich ◽

Pablo Sarricolea ◽

Mauricio Galleguillos

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Forest Conservation ◽

Land Use Policy ◽

Policy Outcomes ◽

Native Forest ◽

Ecological Dynamics ◽

Central Chile ◽

South Central ◽

Scenario Approach

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Contenidos De Celulosa Y Lignina En Restos Lignino- Celulósicos De Gran Tamaño (Necromasa) En Un Bosque Templado De Antiguo Crecimiento Del Centro-Sur de Chile

European Scientific Journal ESJ ◽

10.19044/esj.2016.v12n24p403 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 12 (24) ◽

pp. 403

Author(s):

Carlos Belezaca Pinargote ◽

Roberto Godoy Bórquez ◽

Darwin Salvatierra Pilozo ◽

María Cadme Arévalo ◽

Eduardo Valenzuela Flores ◽

...

Keyword(s):

National Park ◽

Temperate Forest ◽

Lignin Content ◽

Woody Debris ◽

Wood Decay ◽

Cellulose Content ◽

Old Growth ◽

Central Chile ◽

South Central ◽

Decay State

The evaluation of volume, necromass, states of decay, solubility, and cellulose and lignin content in coarse woody debris (RLC) accumulated in an evergreen temperate forest of old-growth in the Puyehue National Park, South-Central Chile. Ten plots of 900 m2 each, were quantified for RLC (≥ 10 cm diameter). For necromass quantification was used a scale of five categories/states of decay, necromass (1 = lowest and 5 = highest degradation). 632 m3 ha-1 of deadwood (= 231,5 Mg ha-1 of necromass) was found, mainly represented by Nothofagus betuloides (95,2%). The wood with the most advanced state of decay (state 5) showed a greater solubility, increasing of 273,7 and 818,6 times more soluble than 1, for N. betuloides and S. conspicua, respectively. Cellulose content decreased to 91%, while the lignin increased 248% and 142% in wood decay of N. betuloides and S. conspicua, respectively. These results demonstrate the importance of RLC in the biogeochemistry of remote forest ecosystems of old-growth in Southern Chile.

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Canopy Gap Structure as an Indicator of Intact, Old-Growth Temperate Rainforests in the Valdivian Ecoregion

Forests ◽

10.3390/f12091183 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (9) ◽

pp. 1183

Author(s):

Álvaro G. Gutiérrez ◽

Roberto O. Chávez ◽

Ignacio Díaz-Hormazábal

Keyword(s):

Low Cost ◽

Mean Shift ◽

Forest Degradation ◽

Canopy Gap ◽

Old Growth ◽

Forest Protection ◽

South Central ◽

Old Growth Forest ◽

Temperate Rainforests ◽

Gap Structure

Forest degradation continues to increase globally, threatening biodiversity and the survival of species. In this context, identifying intact, old-growth forest stands is both urgent and vital to ensure their existence and multiple contributions to society. Despite the global ecological importance of the Valdivian temperate rainforests, they are threatened by forest degradation resulting from constant and intense human use in the region. Identification of remnant intact forests in this region is urgent to global forest protection efforts. In this paper, we analyzed whether forests-canopy alterations due to logging produce a distinctive canopy gap structure (e.g., a gap area and a fraction of canopy gaps in the forest) that can be used to remotely distinguish intact from altered forests. We tested this question by comparing the canopy gap structure of 12 old-growth temperate rainforests in south-central Chile (39–40° S), with different levels of canopy alterations due to logging. At each stand, we obtained aerial or satellite very high spatial-resolution images that were automatically segmented using the Mean-Shift segmentation algorithm. We validated the results obtained remotely with ground data on the canopy gap structure. We found that, in the variables, canopy gap fraction, gap area frequency distribution, and mean gap area could be measured remotely with a high level of accuracy. Intact forests have a distinct canopy gap structure in comparison to forests with canopy alterations due to logging. Our results provided a fast, low-cost, and reliable method to obtain canopy gap structure indicators for mapping and monitoring intact forests in the Valdivian ecoregion. The method provided valuable information for managers interested in maintaining and restoring old-growth forest structures in these southern-temperate rainforests.

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