Abstract
Montane forests are one of the most decimated of Neotropical biomes even though they provide a suite of valuable ecosystem services such as provision of water to lowland settlements and prevention of erosion and mudslides. In some instances, to restore these and other ecosystem services, degraded montane forests are replaced by exotic tree plantations, which cover sizeable areas in several countries. Despite their importance for assessment of ecological services and for intrinsic ecological value, comparative studies of paired native montane forest and conifer plantation are scarce along the Northern Andean Cordillera. Additionally, extrapolations are challenging because each pair of communities is highly site specific due to environmental setting, age and density of plantation, and reforestation species. Here, we assess and compare structure, biogeochemistry and ecosystem services provided by closely positioned native forest and pine plantation from a protected montane area in Venezuela. Soil nutrients and soil carbon content were 60 and 54 % respectively higher in the forest. As consequence of pine’ growth form and leaf biochemistry, aboveground biomass and litter mass, as well as nutrient content and carbon stocks, were higher in the plantation. This results in the plantation storing 30 % more MgC ha-1 than the nearby forest. Canopy structure and litter properties influence the hydrology of both ecosystems through differences in rain throughfall. Most of the ecosystem services itemized are superior in the native forest, with exception that the younger plantation sequesters more carbon. An additional service provided by plantations might be that of ecological corridors that connect fragmented native forests. Our study, a specific case of nutrient and carbon cycling dynamics in paired montane forests and pine plantations, provides another set of data for the design of policy and management of considerable areas in the Neotropics with established conservation plantations.
Highlights
Montane forests are one of the most decimated Neotropical biomes (Howorth & Pendry, 2006; Armenteras, Rodríguez, Retana, & Morales, 2010; Meier, 2011; Portillo-Quintero, Lacabana, & Carrasquel, 2011)
We discuss our results by comparing them to the scarce studies from Neotropical montane forests, where those by Lugo (1992) in Puerto Rico and by Cavelier and Tobler (1998) and León, González, and Gallardo (2011) in Colombia are prominent
Planting density and conifer species differ: 440-500 trees ha-1 of P. patula in Colombia, 850 trees ha-1 of P. caribaea in Puerto Rico and 1 350 trees ha-1in our study. Considering these limitations, we discuss the biophysical traits of our set of forest and plantation, their influence on biogeochemical and hydrological dynamics, the ecosystem services provided, and the challenges associated to human influences
Summary
Montane forests are one of the most decimated Neotropical biomes (Howorth & Pendry, 2006; Armenteras, Rodríguez, Retana, & Morales, 2010; Meier, 2011; Portillo-Quintero, Lacabana, & Carrasquel, 2011). Contrary to the secondary forest, the exotic conifers are relatively short lived and the plantations are often mismanaged and burned, gradually losing the services that they provide. To break this cycle of degradation - afforestation - degradation and to provide ecological services on a long term basis, these lands must be restored. Despite the relatively large area covered by protective and conservation plantations, little comparative research has been done even though reforested areas complement the ecological value of the secondary forests (Chazdon, 2008; Chazdon et al, 2016). We integrate previous studies (Baruch & Nozawa, 2014; Baruch et al, 2016) and unpublished results, to contrast a montane forest with an adjacent pine plantation in terms of vegetation traits, ecosystem dynamics and in the provision of several ecological services listed in current agendas (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
