Potential of Pinus radiata plantations for use of harvest residues in characteristic soils of south-central Chile

Pinus and Eucalyptus, being grown worldwide for timber and paper pulp industry, are depending on ectomycorrhizal fungi during their entire life cycle; especially Pinus is frequently found to be colonized by highly host-specific root mycobionts such as Suillus spp. or Rhizopogon spp. Although compatible fungi are usually not naturally present when the host tree genus is not native in the planted area, as in the case of Southern Chile, adventitious communities of ectomycorrhizal fungal partners with unknown origin are commonly observed along the extensive range of Chilean Pinus radiata plantations. We performed a molecular phylogenetic analysis focused on two taxa of Lactarius sect. Deliciosi and Rhizopogon, two very common but insufficiently studied ectomycorrhizal fungi in plantations of P. radiata in central Chile, in order to clarify both identity and origin of adventitious fungal strains. Based on ITS sequences from different specimens covering a larger distribution area, we identified the examined taxa as Lactarius quieticolor and Rhizopogon roseolus. This is the first record of L. quieticolor for South America and there is some evidence that the geographic origin of the examined strains of both species is in the Eurasian region rather than in North America where their host tree P. radiata is native, which raises the discussion how mycorrhizal partners of different geographical origins meet in an allochthonous area.

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Native Plant Diversity and Composition Across a Pinus radiata D.Don Plantation Landscape in South-Central Chile—The Impact of Plantation Age, Logging Roads and Alien Species

Forests ◽

10.3390/f9090567 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 9 (9) ◽

pp. 567 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Steffi Heinrichs ◽

Aníbal Pauchard ◽

Peter Schall

Keyword(s):

Alien Species ◽

Pinus Radiata ◽

Native Species ◽

Natural Forest ◽

Natural Forests ◽

Age Classes ◽

Central Chile ◽

South Central ◽

Plantation Age ◽

Forest Remnants

Alien tree plantations are expanding globally with potential negative effects for native biodiversity. We investigated plant species diversity and composition in a Pinus radiata landscape in south-central Chile, a biodiversity hotspot, by sampling understory vegetation in different plantation age classes, along forest roads and in natural forest remnants in order to find effective conservation measures for native biodiversity. Plantations, including different age classes and roadsides, maintained high native species richness at the landscape scale but supported a completely different community composition than natural forests. Thus, natural forest remnants must be conserved as plantations cannot replace them. Certain natural forest species occurred frequently in mature plantations and can represent starting points for retaining natural elements in plantations. Generalist native and alien species benefited from plantation management, mainly in young plantations and along roadsides. Stand maturation and a closed canopy, though, reduced alien species occurrences within plantations. Along roads, shade-tolerant aliens should be monitored and removed as they can potentially invade natural forests. Native species conservation in plantations requires a holistic approach of the full mosaic of land uses including the protection of remaining natural forests, alien species monitoring along roadsides and patches with continuous canopy cover to reduce pressure by alien species.

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Natural Advance Regeneration of Native Tree Species in Pinus radiata Plantations of South-Central Chile Suggests Potential for a Passive Restoration Approach

Ecosystems ◽

10.1007/s10021-021-00704-x ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Klaus Kremer ◽

Álvaro Promis ◽

Jürgen Bauhus

Keyword(s):

Pinus Radiata ◽

Environmental Conditions ◽

Tree Species ◽

Natural Forests ◽

Central Chile ◽

South Central ◽

Advance Regeneration ◽

Passive Restoration ◽

Native Tree ◽

Native Tree Species

AbstractRestoration of natural forests previously replaced by plantations is a widespread challenge for forestry in Chile and elsewhere. However, there is little documented evidence for successful restoration, either through active or passive approaches. In this study, we aimed at (1) determining the potential for passive restoration in first-rotation Pinus radiata plantations through natural regeneration of native tree species and (2) identifying drivers of this advance regeneration. Across different regions in south-central Chile, we established nearly 260 plots to assess regeneration and environmental conditions along 26 transects running from plantations into adjacent natural forests. The regeneration was exclusively composed by native species, except for 7 individuals of P. radiata. Mean density and diversity of seedlings were significantly higher in natural forests than in plantations, but this was not the case for sapling density, and no differences in sapling diversity were supported. Additionally, significant differences in regeneration composition between plantations and natural forests were found only at two of the eight study sites. Compared to climatic and soil chemical variables, which varied mostly at regional scales, local environmental conditions showed little influence on regeneration, possibly due to the structural homogeneity of plantations. Yet, the significantly higher basal area, litter thickness and gap fraction of plantations compared to natural forests suggest that these factors may explain differences at the seedling stage. Our study indicates that the use of appropriate harvesting methods that maintain advance regeneration may facilitate the transition from plantations to native forests through passive restoration. The use this approach should be further investigated through analyzing regeneration’s response to different forms of plantation harvesting.

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Intertidal zonation patterns of macroinfauna over a range of exposed sandy beaches in south-central Chile

Marine Ecology Progress Series ◽

10.3354/meps101105 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 101 ◽

pp. 105-118 ◽

Cited By ~ 57

Author(s):

E Jaramillo ◽

A McLachlan ◽

P Coetzee

Keyword(s):

Sandy Beaches ◽

Central Chile ◽

South Central ◽

Intertidal Zonation ◽

Zonation Patterns

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Cardiorespiratory Fitness: Reference on the Six-Minute Walk Test and Oxygen Consumption in Adolescents from South-Central Chile

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18052474 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (5) ◽

pp. 2474

Author(s):

Jaime Vásquez-Gómez ◽

Nelson Gatica Salas ◽

Pedro Jiménez Villarroel ◽

Luis Rojas-Araya ◽

Cesar Faundez-Casanova ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cardiorespiratory Fitness ◽

Reference Values ◽

Estimation Error ◽

Walk Test ◽

Central Chile ◽

Six Minute Walk Test ◽

Body Adiposity ◽

South Central ◽

Males And Females ◽

Minute Walk

Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) provides oxygen to the exercising muscles and is related to body adiposity, with cardiometabolic variables. The aim was to develop reference values and a predictive model of CRF in Chilean adolescents. A total of 741 adolescents of both genders (15.7 years old) participated in a basic anthropometry, performance in the six-minute walk test (SMWT), and in Course Navette was measured. Percentiles were determined for the SMWT, for the V̇O2max, and an equation was developed to estimate it. The validity of the equation was checked using distribution assumptions and the Bland–Altman diagram. The STATA v.14 program was used (p < 0.05). The 50th percentile values for males and females in the SMWT and in the V̇O2max of Course Navette were, respectively, from 607 to 690 and from 630 to 641 m, and from 43.9 to 45 and from 37.5 to 31.5 mlO2·kg·min−1, for the range of 13 to 17 years. For its part, the model to predict V̇O2max incorporated gender, heart rate, height, waist-to-height ratio (WHR), and distance in the SMWT (R2 = 0.62; estimation error = 0.38 LO2·min−1; p <0.001). Reference values can guide physical fitness in Chilean adolescents, and V̇O2max was possible to predict from morphofunctional variables.

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