Relationship between degradation and the structural-functional complexity of subtropical xerophytic forests in the Argentine Wet Chaco
Globally, forests are severely compromised by land use change and anthropogenic degradation. Forests’ struc tural and biotic homogenization leads to the loss of ecosystem processes that sustain their functionality and determine their contributions to people. Resilience is a key property that express...
| Autores principales: | , , |
|---|---|
| Formato: | Artículo |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
Elsevier
2024
|
| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/18694 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S037811272400269X https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2024.121957 |
| _version_ | 1855486221922336768 |
|---|---|
| author | Alvarez Arnesi, Eugenio Lopez, Dardo Ruben Barberis, Ignacio M. |
| author_browse | Alvarez Arnesi, Eugenio Barberis, Ignacio M. Lopez, Dardo Ruben |
| author_facet | Alvarez Arnesi, Eugenio Lopez, Dardo Ruben Barberis, Ignacio M. |
| author_sort | Alvarez Arnesi, Eugenio |
| collection | INTA Digital |
| description | Globally, forests are severely compromised by land use change and anthropogenic degradation. Forests’ struc tural and biotic homogenization leads to the loss of ecosystem processes that sustain their functionality and determine their contributions to people. Resilience is a key property that expresses the capacity of an ecosystem to tolerate, recover, and/or adapt to disturbances without drastically changing its structure or ecological func tions. Once this capacity is exceeded beyond the threshold limit, resilience is lost, and degradation occurs. The Structural – Functional of State and Transition Models (SFSTM) provide a conceptual framework to address ecosystem resilience and the identification of degradation thresholds. In this work, we sought to describe and quantify structural degradation and its relationship between vegetation structural complexity, proxies of ecological processes, and species composition of the quebrachales, a threatened xerophytic subtropical forest of great environmental and socio-economic value in the Wet Chaco of Argentina. For this purpose, a set of forest sites were selected to represent the different histories of uses, where vegetation and soil samplings were carried out. A Structural Degradation Index (SDI) was constructed based on a set of structural variables using multi variate techniques, and the sites were ordered and classified into two structural groups. Linear (generalized) and
segmented models were performed to analyze the responses of vegetation heterogeneity and proxies of ecosystem process to structural degradation and to identify thresholds. In addition, species composition was analyzed based on comparing the coefficients of beta diversity, nestedness, and concordance between sites. The structural degradation of the quebracho forest was negatively related to vegetation complexity and ecological processes, and there were breakpoints or non-linear responses between structural groups. Biological diversity was nega tively related to anthropogenic degradation due to an increase in beta diversity between structural groups, as well as a process of species divergence between degraded sites. This work shows a clear approach to studying the resilience of subtropical xerophytic forests with concrete results on structural homogenization, loss or decrease of ecological processes, and biotic simplification due to anthropogenic degradation of these ecosystems. In the context of global climate change and rapid human-induced alterations, addressing forest ecosystem resilience from a structural and functional perspective could be a novel approach to its medium- and long-term management. |
| format | Artículo |
| id | INTA18694 |
| institution | Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA -Argentina) |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| publishDateRange | 2024 |
| publishDateSort | 2024 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| publisherStr | Elsevier |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | INTA186942024-07-29T11:09:22Z Relationship between degradation and the structural-functional complexity of subtropical xerophytic forests in the Argentine Wet Chaco Alvarez Arnesi, Eugenio Lopez, Dardo Ruben Barberis, Ignacio M. Degradación Ecoproceso Ecología Forestal Resiliencia Degradation Ecofriendly Processes Forest Ecology Resilience Región Chaqueña Húmeda Globally, forests are severely compromised by land use change and anthropogenic degradation. Forests’ struc tural and biotic homogenization leads to the loss of ecosystem processes that sustain their functionality and determine their contributions to people. Resilience is a key property that expresses the capacity of an ecosystem to tolerate, recover, and/or adapt to disturbances without drastically changing its structure or ecological func tions. Once this capacity is exceeded beyond the threshold limit, resilience is lost, and degradation occurs. The Structural – Functional of State and Transition Models (SFSTM) provide a conceptual framework to address ecosystem resilience and the identification of degradation thresholds. In this work, we sought to describe and quantify structural degradation and its relationship between vegetation structural complexity, proxies of ecological processes, and species composition of the quebrachales, a threatened xerophytic subtropical forest of great environmental and socio-economic value in the Wet Chaco of Argentina. For this purpose, a set of forest sites were selected to represent the different histories of uses, where vegetation and soil samplings were carried out. A Structural Degradation Index (SDI) was constructed based on a set of structural variables using multi variate techniques, and the sites were ordered and classified into two structural groups. Linear (generalized) and segmented models were performed to analyze the responses of vegetation heterogeneity and proxies of ecosystem process to structural degradation and to identify thresholds. In addition, species composition was analyzed based on comparing the coefficients of beta diversity, nestedness, and concordance between sites. The structural degradation of the quebracho forest was negatively related to vegetation complexity and ecological processes, and there were breakpoints or non-linear responses between structural groups. Biological diversity was nega tively related to anthropogenic degradation due to an increase in beta diversity between structural groups, as well as a process of species divergence between degraded sites. This work shows a clear approach to studying the resilience of subtropical xerophytic forests with concrete results on structural homogenization, loss or decrease of ecological processes, and biotic simplification due to anthropogenic degradation of these ecosystems. In the context of global climate change and rapid human-induced alterations, addressing forest ecosystem resilience from a structural and functional perspective could be a novel approach to its medium- and long-term management. EEA Manfredi Fil: Alvarez Arnesi, Eugenio. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias Agrarias de Rosario; Argentina Fil: Alvarez Arnesi, Eugenio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Santa Fe. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias Agrarias de Rosario; Argentina. Fil: López, Dardo. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Manfredi. Agencia de Extensión Rural Villa Dolores; Argentina Fil: Barberis, Ignacio M. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias Agrarias de Rosario; Argentina Fil: Barberis, Ignacio M. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Santa Fe. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias Agrarias de Rosario; Argentina. 2024-07-29T11:01:57Z 2024-07-29T11:01:57Z 2024-04-27 info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/18694 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S037811272400269X https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2024.121957 eng info:eu-repograntAgreement/INTA/2023-PD-L02-I091, Adaptación a la variabilidad y al cambio global: herramientas para la gestión de riesgos, la reducción de impactos y el aumento de la resiliencia de socioecosistemas info:eu-repograntAgreement/INTA/2023-PD-L03-I095, Desarrollo y validación de un marco metodológico institucional para la evaluación de la sostenibilidad info:eu-repograntAgreement/INTA/2019-PE-E1-I514-001, Manejo de Bosques con Ganadería Integrada (MBGI) info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) application/pdf Elsevier Forest Ecology and Management 562 : 121957 (April 2024) |
| spellingShingle | Degradación Ecoproceso Ecología Forestal Resiliencia Degradation Ecofriendly Processes Forest Ecology Resilience Región Chaqueña Húmeda Alvarez Arnesi, Eugenio Lopez, Dardo Ruben Barberis, Ignacio M. Relationship between degradation and the structural-functional complexity of subtropical xerophytic forests in the Argentine Wet Chaco |
| title | Relationship between degradation and the structural-functional complexity of subtropical xerophytic forests in the Argentine Wet Chaco |
| title_full | Relationship between degradation and the structural-functional complexity of subtropical xerophytic forests in the Argentine Wet Chaco |
| title_fullStr | Relationship between degradation and the structural-functional complexity of subtropical xerophytic forests in the Argentine Wet Chaco |
| title_full_unstemmed | Relationship between degradation and the structural-functional complexity of subtropical xerophytic forests in the Argentine Wet Chaco |
| title_short | Relationship between degradation and the structural-functional complexity of subtropical xerophytic forests in the Argentine Wet Chaco |
| title_sort | relationship between degradation and the structural functional complexity of subtropical xerophytic forests in the argentine wet chaco |
| topic | Degradación Ecoproceso Ecología Forestal Resiliencia Degradation Ecofriendly Processes Forest Ecology Resilience Región Chaqueña Húmeda |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/18694 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S037811272400269X https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2024.121957 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT alvarezarnesieugenio relationshipbetweendegradationandthestructuralfunctionalcomplexityofsubtropicalxerophyticforestsintheargentinewetchaco AT lopezdardoruben relationshipbetweendegradationandthestructuralfunctionalcomplexityofsubtropicalxerophyticforestsintheargentinewetchaco AT barberisignaciom relationshipbetweendegradationandthestructuralfunctionalcomplexityofsubtropicalxerophyticforestsintheargentinewetchaco |