Environmental factor modifications by different degrees of canopy openings: effects on the ecophysiology and conservation of understory plant species in Nothofagus pumilio forests of Southern Patagonia
This is the Doctoral, ongoing Thesis work of Biologist Luciano Selzer. Productive forest in southern Patagonia are mostly abundant in species of Nothofagus. These species regenerate abundant and spontaneously when they are exposed to either natural or antropic disturbances, as forest management. Natural and forest-management openings modify both light quality and quantity at the understory level as well as the amount of precipitation which reaches the forest soil. Development of new silvicultural strategies which optimize regeneration growth of N. pumilio requires precise knowledge of the influence of environmental factors on its dynamics. Ecophysiological studies will be conducted for knowing to what extent changes determined by forest openings of different magnitude could risk N. pumilio regeneration, and affect understory herbaceous species (Osmorhiza depauperata, Viola magellanica, Poa pratensis and Festuca magellanica), by placing them under excesive thresholds or unfavorable competitive conditions. Help from researchers of CADIC (CONICET) will be provided to conduct this research.