A protocol for health assessment of cacti populations: A case study from Northwestern Argentina

Argentina is considered megadiverse for Cactaceae, and Jujuy province, with a high proportion of cacti endemism, is a critical region for their preservation. Cacti deterioration is mainly associated with habitat degradation, agricultural frontier advance, urbanization, illegal collection and trade....

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Autores principales:	María Florencia Barbarich, Florencia Otegui, Alejandro Saint Esteven, Ignacio M. Soto, Laura Varone
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Elsevier 2021
Materias:	Columnar cacti Health status MRT Deterioration Conservation Ecology QH540-549.5
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/5a608984f5d04471901897ea75331c2e
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:5a608984f5d04471901897ea75331c2e2021-12-01T04:37:25ZA protocol for health assessment of cacti populations: A case study from Northwestern Argentina1470-160X10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.107174https://doaj.org/article/5a608984f5d04471901897ea75331c2e2021-02-01T00:00:00Zhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X20311134https://doaj.org/toc/1470-160XArgentina is considered megadiverse for Cactaceae, and Jujuy province, with a high proportion of cacti endemism, is a critical region for their preservation. Cacti deterioration is mainly associated with habitat degradation, agricultural frontier advance, urbanization, illegal collection and trade. Of the three species of columnar cacti within Trichocereus genus that are present, Trichocereus atacamensis represents a valuable species for local communities. In the last decades, detrimental effects on T. atacamensis populations increased despite the reduction in the use of timber for construction or handicrafts. Knowledge on the health of cacti populations is fundamental for conservation and resource management, therefore the objective of the present study was to develop a health status classification criterion for cacti in Quebrada de Humahuaca, Jujuy. A generic method was elaborated to assess the health of cacti populations to facilitate and speed-up the decision-making process for conservation purposes. The evaluation of factors involved in the deterioration is very complex. We designed a method considering aspects that the local residents identified as the most relevant: a) presence of air plant (genus Tillandsia), b) larvae of Cactoblastis bucyrus and c) signs of rot. Band transects were sampled in patches of T. atacamensis, surveying these aspects for each individual. A Multivariate Regression Tree analysis (MRT) was conducted. According to this clustering, an accessible assessment protocol with a 5-level health status was established to classify the cactus as optimal, suboptimal, compromised, vulnerable or critical. The general health status of the patches was highly variable. This MRT analysis is potentially applicable to any columnar cacti population and to establish the basis of a decision protocol for health status assessment. It is evident that the situation of T. atacamensis transcends as a local problem and exceeds the presence of pathogens suggesting a multifactorial causality that needs special attention.María Florencia BarbarichFlorencia OteguiAlejandro Saint EstevenIgnacio M. SotoLaura VaroneElsevierarticleColumnar cactiHealth statusMRTDeteriorationConservationEcologyQH540-549.5ENEcological Indicators, Vol 121, Iss , Pp 107174- (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Columnar cacti Health status MRT Deterioration Conservation Ecology QH540-549.5
spellingShingle	Columnar cacti Health status MRT Deterioration Conservation Ecology QH540-549.5 María Florencia Barbarich Florencia Otegui Alejandro Saint Esteven Ignacio M. Soto Laura Varone A protocol for health assessment of cacti populations: A case study from Northwestern Argentina
description	Argentina is considered megadiverse for Cactaceae, and Jujuy province, with a high proportion of cacti endemism, is a critical region for their preservation. Cacti deterioration is mainly associated with habitat degradation, agricultural frontier advance, urbanization, illegal collection and trade. Of the three species of columnar cacti within Trichocereus genus that are present, Trichocereus atacamensis represents a valuable species for local communities. In the last decades, detrimental effects on T. atacamensis populations increased despite the reduction in the use of timber for construction or handicrafts. Knowledge on the health of cacti populations is fundamental for conservation and resource management, therefore the objective of the present study was to develop a health status classification criterion for cacti in Quebrada de Humahuaca, Jujuy. A generic method was elaborated to assess the health of cacti populations to facilitate and speed-up the decision-making process for conservation purposes. The evaluation of factors involved in the deterioration is very complex. We designed a method considering aspects that the local residents identified as the most relevant: a) presence of air plant (genus Tillandsia), b) larvae of Cactoblastis bucyrus and c) signs of rot. Band transects were sampled in patches of T. atacamensis, surveying these aspects for each individual. A Multivariate Regression Tree analysis (MRT) was conducted. According to this clustering, an accessible assessment protocol with a 5-level health status was established to classify the cactus as optimal, suboptimal, compromised, vulnerable or critical. The general health status of the patches was highly variable. This MRT analysis is potentially applicable to any columnar cacti population and to establish the basis of a decision protocol for health status assessment. It is evident that the situation of T. atacamensis transcends as a local problem and exceeds the presence of pathogens suggesting a multifactorial causality that needs special attention.
format	article
author	María Florencia Barbarich Florencia Otegui Alejandro Saint Esteven Ignacio M. Soto Laura Varone
author_facet	María Florencia Barbarich Florencia Otegui Alejandro Saint Esteven Ignacio M. Soto Laura Varone
author_sort	María Florencia Barbarich
title	A protocol for health assessment of cacti populations: A case study from Northwestern Argentina
title_short	A protocol for health assessment of cacti populations: A case study from Northwestern Argentina
title_full	A protocol for health assessment of cacti populations: A case study from Northwestern Argentina
title_fullStr	A protocol for health assessment of cacti populations: A case study from Northwestern Argentina
title_full_unstemmed	A protocol for health assessment of cacti populations: A case study from Northwestern Argentina
title_sort	protocol for health assessment of cacti populations: a case study from northwestern argentina
publisher	Elsevier
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/5a608984f5d04471901897ea75331c2e
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A protocol for health assessment of cacti populations: A case study from Northwestern Argentina

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