scholarly journals Knowledge arising from long-term research of variable retention harvesting in Tierra del Fuego: where do we go from here?

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Guillermo J. Martínez Pastur ◽  
Yamina M. Rosas ◽  
Mónica Toro Manríquez ◽  
Alejandro Huertas Herrera ◽  
Juan A. Miller ◽  
...  
2016 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
pp. 1106-1116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret W. Roberts ◽  
Anthony W. D'Amato ◽  
Christel C. Kern ◽  
Brian J. Palik

2014 ◽  
Vol 94 (3) ◽  
pp. 263-279 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara E. Kishchuk ◽  
Sylvie Quideau ◽  
Yonghe Wang ◽  
Cindy Prescott

Kishchuk, B. E., Quideau, S., Wang, Y. and Prescott, C. 2014. Long-term soil response to variable-retention harvesting in the EMEND (Ecosystem Management Emulating Natural Disturbance) experiment, northwestern Alberta. Can. J. Soil Sci. 94: 263–279. We report on soil responses to variable-retention (VR) harvesting from a large-scale experiment (>1000 ha). Samples were taken prior to treatment, and 1 and 6 yr after treatment under cover types representing the successional trajectory for boreal mixedwood forests in northwestern Alberta, Canada. Variable-retention harvesting at six overstory-retention levels [100 (control), 75, 50, 20, 10, and 0% (clearcut)] were applied to 10-ha experimental units under four cover types: deciduous-dominated (80–95% trembling aspen); deciduous-dominated with coniferous understory (80–95% trembling aspen with white spruce understory at 60–80% of full stocking); mixed coniferous-deciduous (35–65% of each); and coniferous-dominated (80–95% white spruce). Only a few clear differences in soil properties attributable to VR harvesting were evident 6 yr post-harvest: (1) both extractable NH4-N in forest floor and 0–7 cm mineral-soil, and forest floor exchangeable K decreased with increasing canopy removal, and (2) forest floor exchangeable Ca increased with canopy removal. There was a decreasing trend in forest floor and mineral soil C (kg ha−1) in undisturbed stands between 1998 and 2005. Differences in soil properties among cover types included higher pH and N concentration in forest floors, and higher cation exchange capacity and exchangeable Ca and Mg in mineral soils in deciduous-dominated stands. Deciduous-dominated stands appear to have distinct soil properties that change under stand development.


2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 633 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin S. Crotteau ◽  
Christopher R. Keyes ◽  
Elaine K. Sutherland ◽  
David K. Wright ◽  
Joel M. Egan

Variable-retention harvesting in lodgepole pine offers an alternative to conventional, even-aged management. This harvesting technique promotes structural complexity and age-class diversity in residual stands and promotes resilience to disturbance. We examined fuel loads and potential fire behaviour 12 years after two modes of variable-retention harvesting (dispersed and aggregated retention patterns) crossed by post-harvest prescribed fire (burned or unburned) in central Montana. Results characterise 12-year post-treatment fuel loads. We found greater fuel load reduction in treated than untreated stands, namely in the 10- and 100-h classes (P = 0.002 and 0.049 respectively). Reductions in 1-h (P < 0.001), 10-h (P = 0.008) and 1000-h (P = 0.014) classes were greater in magnitude for unburned than burned treatments. Fire behaviour modelling incorporated the regenerating seedling cohort into the surface fuel complex. Our analysis indicates greater surface fireline intensity in treated than untreated stands (P < 0.001), and in unburned over burned stands (P = 0.001) in dry, windy weather. Although potential fire behaviour in treated stands is predicted to be more erratic, within-stand structural variability reduces probability of crown fire spread. Overall, results illustrate trade-offs between potential fire attributes that should be acknowledged with variable-retention harvesting.


1998 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana M. Cingolani ◽  
Juan Anchorena ◽  
Marta B. Collantes

2017 ◽  
Vol 84 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy J. Philpott ◽  
Jason S. Barker ◽  
Cindy E. Prescott ◽  
Sue J. Grayston

ABSTRACT Fine root litter is the principal source of carbon stored in forest soils and a dominant source of carbon for fungal decomposers. Differences in decomposer capacity between fungal species may be important determinants of fine-root decomposition rates. Variable-retention harvesting (VRH) provides refuge for ectomycorrhizal fungi, but its influence on fine-root decomposers is unknown, as are the effects of functional shifts in these fungal communities on carbon cycling. We compared fungal communities decomposing fine roots (in litter bags) under VRH, clear-cut, and uncut stands at two sites (6 and 13 years postharvest) and two decay stages (43 days and 1 year after burial) in Douglas fir forests in coastal British Columbia, Canada. Fungal species and guilds were identified from decomposed fine roots using high-throughput sequencing. Variable retention had short-term effects on β-diversity; harvest treatment modified the fungal community composition at the 6-year-postharvest site, but not at the 13-year-postharvest site. Ericoid and ectomycorrhizal guilds were not more abundant under VRH, but stand age significantly structured species composition. Guild composition varied by decay stage, with ruderal species later replaced by saprotrophs and ectomycorrhizae. Ectomycorrhizal abundance on decomposing fine roots may partially explain why fine roots typically decompose more slowly than surface litter. Our results indicate that stand age structures fine-root decomposers but that decay stage is more important in structuring the fungal community than shifts caused by harvesting. The rapid postharvest recovery of fungal communities decomposing fine roots suggests resiliency within this community, at least in these young regenerating stands in coastal British Columbia. IMPORTANCE Globally, fine roots are a dominant source of carbon in forest soils, yet the fungi that decompose this material and that drive the sequestration or respiration of this carbon remain largely uncharacterized. Fungi vary in their capacity to decompose plant litter, suggesting that fungal community composition is an important determinant of decomposition rates. Variable-retention harvesting is a forestry practice that modifies fungal communities by providing refuge for ectomycorrhizal fungi. We evaluated the effects of variable retention and clear-cut harvesting on fungal communities decomposing fine roots at two sites (6 and 13 years postharvest), at two decay stages (43 days and 1 year), and in uncut stands in temperate rainforests. Harvesting impacts on fungal community composition were detected only after 6 years after harvest. We suggest that fungal community composition may be an important factor that reduces fine-root decomposition rates relative to those of above-ground plant litter, which has important consequences for forest carbon cycling.


PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e5008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca E. Hewitt ◽  
Donald Lee Taylor ◽  
Teresa N. Hollingsworth ◽  
Christopher B. Anderson ◽  
Guillermo Martínez Pastur

Background The post-harvest recovery and sustained productivity of Nothofagus pumilio forests in Tierra del Fuego may be affected by the abundance and composition of ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF). Timber harvesting alters EMF community structure in many managed forests, but the impacts of harvesting can vary with the management strategy. The implementation of variable retention (VR) management can maintain, increase, or decrease the diversity of many species, but the effects of VR on EMF in the forests of southern Patagonia have not been studied, nor has the role of EMF in the regeneration process of these forests. Methods We evaluated the effects of VR management on the EMF community associated with N. pumilio seedlings. We quantified the abundance, composition, and diversity of EMF across aggregate (AR) and dispersed (DR) retention sites within VR managed areas, and compared them to primary forest (PF) unmanaged stands. EMF assemblage and taxonomic identities were determined by ITS-rDNA sequencing of individual root tips sampled from 280 seedlings across three landscape replicates. To better understand seedling performance, we tested the relationships between EMF colonization, EMF taxonomic composition, seedling biomass, and VR treatment. Results The majority of EMF taxa were Basidiomycota belonging to the families Cortinariaceae (n = 29), Inocybaceae (n = 16), and Thelephoraceae (n = 8), which was in agreement with other studies of EMF diversity in Nothofagus forests. EMF richness and colonization was reduced in DR compared to AR and PF. Furthermore, EMF community composition was similar between AR and PF, but differed from the composition in DR. EMF community composition was correlated with seedling biomass and soil moisture. The presence of Peziza depressa was associated with higher seedling biomass and greater soil moisture, while Inocybe fibrillosibrunnea and Cortinarius amoenus were associated with reduced seedling biomass and lower soil moisture. Seedling biomass was more strongly related to retention type than EMF colonization, richness, or composition. Discussion Our results demonstrate reduced EMF attributes and altered composition in VR treatments relative to PF stands, with stronger impacts in DR compared to AR. This suggests that VR has the potential to improve the conservation status of managed stands by supporting native EMF in AR. Our results also demonstrate the complex linkages between retention treatments, fungal community composition, and tree growth at individual and stand scales.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document