Abstract

Extensive areas of native vegetation have been cleared to establish commercial exotic tree plantations in south-central Chile, a region known as a world biodiversity hotspot. Despite increasing societal demands to restore native forests in parts of the landscape, documented experiences for this form of restoration are lacking. We conducted a landscape-replicated experiment to test the influence of different harvesting treatments (clearcut, strip-cutting and unharvested control) on the early establishment of native tree species in 20-year-old Pinus radiata plantations. Group plantings of shade-intolerant (Nothofagus dombeyi; Nothofagus obliqua), semi-tolerant (Nothofagus alpina; Laurelia sempervirens) and shade–tolerant species (Aextoxicon punctatum; Cryptocarya alba) were established across the treatments, and seedling performance and water status were monitored during the first two growing seasons. Mean survival was significantly higher in the strip-cuttings (77%) and control (70%) than in the clearcuts (38%), while mean height and root collar diameter growth were significantly higher in the strip-cuttings (16 cm year−1; 0.2 cm year−1) and clearcuts (16 cm year−1; 0.2 cm year−1) than in the control (5 cm year−1; 0.1 cm year−1). Shade-intolerant and semi-tolerant species showed the highest growth responses to openings. Leaf water potential was significantly higher in seedlings in the strip-cuttings than those in the control and clearcuts, and stomatal conductance was significantly higher in the strip-cuttings and clearcuts than in the control. Higher seedling performances and lower water stress in the strip-cutting treatment suggest that partial canopy removal is a suitable method for artificial regeneration of native tree species with different shade tolerances for native forest restoration from P. radiata plantations.

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