Artículo
Rehabilitation of degraded areas in northeastern Patagonia, Argentina: Effects of environmental conditions and plant functional traits on performance of native woody species
Fecha de publicación:
07/2020
Editorial:
Science Press
Revista:
Journal of Arid Land
ISSN:
1674-6767
e-ISSN:
2194-7783
Idioma:
Inglés
Tipo de recurso:
Artículo publicado
Clasificación temática:
Resumen
Degradation processes affect a vast area of arid and semi-arid lands around the world and damage the environment and people′s health. Degradation processes are driven by human productive activities that cause direct and indirect effects on natural resources, such as species extinction at regional scale, reduction and elimination of vegetation cover, soil erosion, etc. In this context, ecological rehabilitation is an important tool to recover key aspects of the degraded ecosystem. Rehabilitation trials rely on the use of native plant species with characteristics that allow them to obtain high survival and growth rates. The aim of this work was to assess the survival and growth of native woody species in degraded areas of northeastern Patagonia and relate them to plant functional traits and environmental variables. We observed high early and late survival rates, and growth rates in Prosopis flexuosa DC. var. depressa F.A. Roig and Schinus johnstonii F.A. Barkley and low values in Condalia microphylla Cav. and Geoffroea decorticans (Gillies ex Hook. & Arn.) Burkart. Early survival rates were positively associated with specific leaf area (SLA), and precipitation and negatively associated with wood density, and maximum mean temperature of the warm month, and minimum mean temperature of the coldest month. Late survival rates were positively associated with SLA and soil organic matter, and negatively associated with plant height and precipitation. The temperature had a positive effect on late survival rates once the plants overcame the critical threshold of the first summer after they were transplanted to the field. Prosopis flexuosa and S. johnstonii were the most successful species in our study. This could be due to their functional traits that allow these species to acclimatize to the local environment. Further research should focus on C. microphylla and G. decorticans to determine how they relate to productive conditions, acclimation to environmental stress, auto-ecology and potential use in ecological rehabilitation trials.
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Identificadores
Colecciones
Articulos(CCT - PATAGONIA CONFLUENCIA)
Articulos de CTRO.CIENTIFICO TECNOL.CONICET - PATAGONIA CONFLUENCIA
Articulos de CTRO.CIENTIFICO TECNOL.CONICET - PATAGONIA CONFLUENCIA
Citación
Zeberio, Juan Manuel; Perez, Carolina Alejandra; Rehabilitation of degraded areas in northeastern Patagonia, Argentina: Effects of environmental conditions and plant functional traits on performance of native woody species; Science Press; Journal of Arid Land; 12; 4; 7-2020; 653-665
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