Importance of irrigation and plant size in the establishment success of different native species in a degraded ecosystem of central Chile

Irrigation has frequently been considered a necessary step in reforesting open areas of semiarid ecosystems. However, the success of irrigation has mainly been assessed using young and small plants, typically younger than two years old. Few studies have explored whether irrigation is also important...

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Autores principales: Becerra,Pablo I, Cruz,Gustavo, Ríos,Santiago, Castelli,Giorgio
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Universidad Austral de Chile, Facultad de Ciencias Forestales 2013
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Acceso en línea:http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0717-92002013000100012
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spelling oai:scielo:S0717-920020130001000122013-04-23Importance of irrigation and plant size in the establishment success of different native species in a degraded ecosystem of central ChileBecerra,Pablo ICruz,GustavoRíos,SantiagoCastelli,Giorgio plant age growth rate restoration sclerophyllous forest survival Irrigation has frequently been considered a necessary step in reforesting open areas of semiarid ecosystems. However, the success of irrigation has mainly been assessed using young and small plants, typically younger than two years old. Few studies have explored whether irrigation is also important with older and larger plants, and if the use of larger plants may enhance reforestation success. We tested the effect of irrigation and plant size on survival and height growth of six tree species from the Mediterranean region of Chile, for planting on a reclaimed fly ash landfill lacking woody vegetation. Between 2008 and 2010 we planted and monitored 160 plants of each species in a factorial design including 1- and 4-year-old trees (smaller and larger, respectively), with and without irrigation. Irrigation improved survival in more water-demanding species regardless of plant size, and primarily among smaller plants for species classified in the middle of a water requirement gradient. With more drought-resistant species, irrigation was not important for survival. The use of larger plants enhanced survival but not growth, and mainly in more water-demanding species. In general, height growth for some species was higher with irrigation and mainly among smaller plants.info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessUniversidad Austral de Chile, Facultad de Ciencias ForestalesBosque (Valdivia) v.34 n.1 20132013-01-01text/htmlhttp://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0717-92002013000100012en10.4067/S0717-92002013000100012
institution Scielo Chile
collection Scielo Chile
language English
topic plant age
growth rate
restoration
sclerophyllous forest
survival
spellingShingle plant age
growth rate
restoration
sclerophyllous forest
survival
Becerra,Pablo I
Cruz,Gustavo
Ríos,Santiago
Castelli,Giorgio
Importance of irrigation and plant size in the establishment success of different native species in a degraded ecosystem of central Chile
description Irrigation has frequently been considered a necessary step in reforesting open areas of semiarid ecosystems. However, the success of irrigation has mainly been assessed using young and small plants, typically younger than two years old. Few studies have explored whether irrigation is also important with older and larger plants, and if the use of larger plants may enhance reforestation success. We tested the effect of irrigation and plant size on survival and height growth of six tree species from the Mediterranean region of Chile, for planting on a reclaimed fly ash landfill lacking woody vegetation. Between 2008 and 2010 we planted and monitored 160 plants of each species in a factorial design including 1- and 4-year-old trees (smaller and larger, respectively), with and without irrigation. Irrigation improved survival in more water-demanding species regardless of plant size, and primarily among smaller plants for species classified in the middle of a water requirement gradient. With more drought-resistant species, irrigation was not important for survival. The use of larger plants enhanced survival but not growth, and mainly in more water-demanding species. In general, height growth for some species was higher with irrigation and mainly among smaller plants.
author Becerra,Pablo I
Cruz,Gustavo
Ríos,Santiago
Castelli,Giorgio
author_facet Becerra,Pablo I
Cruz,Gustavo
Ríos,Santiago
Castelli,Giorgio
author_sort Becerra,Pablo I
title Importance of irrigation and plant size in the establishment success of different native species in a degraded ecosystem of central Chile
title_short Importance of irrigation and plant size in the establishment success of different native species in a degraded ecosystem of central Chile
title_full Importance of irrigation and plant size in the establishment success of different native species in a degraded ecosystem of central Chile
title_fullStr Importance of irrigation and plant size in the establishment success of different native species in a degraded ecosystem of central Chile
title_full_unstemmed Importance of irrigation and plant size in the establishment success of different native species in a degraded ecosystem of central Chile
title_sort importance of irrigation and plant size in the establishment success of different native species in a degraded ecosystem of central chile
publisher Universidad Austral de Chile, Facultad de Ciencias Forestales
publishDate 2013
url http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0717-92002013000100012
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