Abstract
The landscape in the lowlands of south-central Chile is dominated by agricultural lands and forestry plantations of exotic species. Natural forests are restricted to successional forests, while old-growth forests are nearly absent. The lack of old-growth forests may deprive society from some ecosystem services. Both successional and old forests differ in their ecological functions and in the ecosystem services they can provide. To promote old-growth characteristics in successional forests, it becomes necessary to know which compositional and structural attributes differentiate forests along succession. We aim at identifying the differential attributes among successional and old-growth forests in the lowlands in the northern portion of the Valdivian Rainforests. We analyzed 19 variables in seven different forests and found statistically significant differences in 13 of them. A subset of these variables illustrated major patterns that differentiate successional stages, of which a few could be more easily controlled through management. The latter include lowering tree densities (from >3000 to <1500 trees per hectare), increasing volume of large trees, especially of shade-tolerant species, and structural heterogeneity (a Gini coefficient >0.7 represents older forests). While successional forest show a rapid recovery, forest managers would need to focus in controlling these attributes to increase their old-growth characteristics.
Highlights
Old-growth forests are essential for providing important ecosystems services such as carbon sequestration, regulation of hydrological and nutrient cycles, habitat for sustaining biodiversity, and provision of cultural values [1,2]
We focus in the Valdivian Temperate Rainforests [20] at low- to mid-elevations in the Coastal Range of south-central Chile
We studied seven different types of Valdivian Temperate Rainforests that included second-growth forests ranging from yearsTemperate of age to old-growth
Summary
Old-growth forests are essential for providing important ecosystems services such as carbon sequestration, regulation of hydrological and nutrient cycles, habitat for sustaining biodiversity, and provision of cultural values [1,2]. In spite of past and current human pressures upon forest ecosystems, 23% of the remaining forests of the world can be considered old-growth without or with minimum signs of human-driven disturbances [2]. The massive and continuous loss of old-growth forests due to human pressure for firewood, fiber and timber, in addition to land-use changes, especially for agriculture [3], carries with it great challenges for the provision of ecosystem services from remnant forest ecosystems. Temperate old-growth forests have some unique characteristics [9].
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