Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Microclimatic Conditions Restrict the Radial Growth of Nothofagus antarctica Regeneration According to the Type of Forest Environment in Tierra Del Fuego

Guillermo Martínez Pastur
,
Julián Rodríguez-Souilla
ORCID logo ,
María V. Lencinas
ORCID logo ,
Juan M. Cellini
ORCID logo ,
Jimena E. Chaves
ORCID logo ,
Marie Claire Aravena-Acuña
ORCID logo ,
Fidel A. Roig
ORCID logo ,
Pablo L. Peri
* ORCID logo
Version 1 : Received: 24 April 2023 / Approved: 25 April 2023 / Online: 25 April 2023 (04:05:44 CEST)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Martínez Pastur, G.; Rodríguez-Souilla, J.; Lencinas, M.V.; Cellini, J.M.; Chaves, J.E.; Aravena-Acuña, M.C.; Roig, F.A.; Peri, P.L. Microclimatic Conditions Restrict the Radial Growth of Nothofagus antarctica Regeneration Based on the Type of Forest Environment in Tierra del Fuego. Sustainability 2023, 15, 8687. Martínez Pastur, G.; Rodríguez-Souilla, J.; Lencinas, M.V.; Cellini, J.M.; Chaves, J.E.; Aravena-Acuña, M.C.; Roig, F.A.; Peri, P.L. Microclimatic Conditions Restrict the Radial Growth of Nothofagus antarctica Regeneration Based on the Type of Forest Environment in Tierra del Fuego. Sustainability 2023, 15, 8687.

Abstract

Regeneration is crucial for forest continuity in natural and managed stands. Analyzing intra-annual dynamics improves the understanding between growth and climate, identifying survival thresholds. The objective was to determine microclimate constraints (rainfall, air and soil temperatures) over Nothofagus antarctica regeneration growing at closed, open, and edge forests in Patagonia. We measured stand characteristics (forest structure, understory, soil properties, animal use), microclimate, and daily growth of regeneration using dendrometers (n = 6) during two growing seasons. We found significant differences in the studied variables (e.g. overstory, light, soil, understory, animal use). These changes defined microclimate across overstory gradient (e.g. soil moisture), influencing the daily growth across seasons (lag, exponential, stationary). Rainfall influenced more than temperature. Daily growth in closed forests indicating shrinkage (-0.0082 mm day-1 without rain, and -0.0008 mm day-1 with 0.0-0.2 mm day-1 rainfall), while above 0.2 mm day-1 rainfall, growth always increased. Open forests presented shrinkage during days without rain (-0.0051 mm day-1), showing positive growths according rainfall. Edge forests always presented positive daily growths. The resilience of regeneration under these changed conditions was related with overstory. Main outputs indicated that regeneration was vulnerable during non-rainy days, suggesting the needs of long-term monitoring to develop better silvicultural proposals.

Keywords

silvopastoral systems; regeneration growth; daily stem dynamics; dendrometers; microclimate; soil water content

Subject

Environmental and Earth Sciences, Environmental Science

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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