The role of healthy wetlands in mitigating volcanic tephra impacts in Northern Patagonia

In natural grasslands under extensive grazing, volcanic events pose risks to livestock health and production. Volcanic tephra tends to persist and remain remobilized for years in arid and semi-arid environments, which can be problematic. Healthy wet meadow-wetlands developed in the bottom valleys of...

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Main Authors: Enriquez, Andrea Soledad, Fernandez, Manuela Teresa, Umaña, Fernando, Cremona, Maria Victoria
Format: info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo
Language:Inglés
Published: Elsevier 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/22005
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S277241152400096X
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nbsj.2024.100205
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author Enriquez, Andrea Soledad
Fernandez, Manuela Teresa
Umaña, Fernando
Cremona, Maria Victoria
author_browse Cremona, Maria Victoria
Enriquez, Andrea Soledad
Fernandez, Manuela Teresa
Umaña, Fernando
author_facet Enriquez, Andrea Soledad
Fernandez, Manuela Teresa
Umaña, Fernando
Cremona, Maria Victoria
author_sort Enriquez, Andrea Soledad
collection INTA Digital
description In natural grasslands under extensive grazing, volcanic events pose risks to livestock health and production. Volcanic tephra tends to persist and remain remobilized for years in arid and semi-arid environments, which can be problematic. Healthy wet meadow-wetlands developed in the bottom valleys of Northern Patagonia, Argentina, offer a natural solution for mitigating volcanic tephra impacts. By combining existing geographic information (North Patagonia wetland distribution map and tephra fallout deposit map), the extent of wet meadows affected by the 2011 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle Volcanic Complex (PCCVC) volcano was calculated. The regional amount of available forage in the aftermath of the eruption was estimated through field assessments of aerial net primary production (ANPP); this was conducted during the first peak of plant growth after the PCCVC volcanic event in 5 m x 5 m paired plots, both with and without manually removed tephra a month after the event. To compare the tephra effect on vegetation type throughout time, normalized vegetation index (NDVI) was used to monitor plant activity two years before, the following year, and five years after the PCCVC event in wet meadows and surrounding steppes. In addition, the regional amount of tephra removed from the environment and stabilized in the soil was assessed using prior research findings of ash immobilization and stabilization within meadow soil profiles five years after the PCCVC event. Around 106,000 ha (52%) of North Patagonian meadows were identified to be exposed to volcanic hazard. The plant growing season following the eruption generated, on average, 3929±2146 kg DM ha−1, indicating an active functional wet meadow recovery despite a 25-20% reduction in ANPP due to the tephra effect. NDVI data supported these findings, with the historical maximum level (0.46±0.02) being restored the year following the event, while surrounding steppes recovered at least three years after. Healthy wet meadows mitigated the adverse effects of around 2279 tons of regional tephra, while simultaneously providing nearly half a billion tons of fodder production the year following the eruption- a critical period of cattle food scarcity. These findings highlight the reduction of negative impacts following recurrent volcanic eruptions and underscore the positive effects of conserving, restoring, and sustainably managing wetlands as a Nature-Based Solution for Disaster Risk Reduction.
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spelling INTA220052025-04-23T11:48:17Z The role of healthy wetlands in mitigating volcanic tephra impacts in Northern Patagonia Enriquez, Andrea Soledad Fernandez, Manuela Teresa Umaña, Fernando Cremona, Maria Victoria Tierras Húmedas Servicios de los Ecosistemas Suelo Volcánico Solución Basadas en la Naturaleza Wetlands Ecosystem Services Volcanic Soils Nature-based Solutions Ceniza Volcánica Mallines Humedales Región Patagónica In natural grasslands under extensive grazing, volcanic events pose risks to livestock health and production. Volcanic tephra tends to persist and remain remobilized for years in arid and semi-arid environments, which can be problematic. Healthy wet meadow-wetlands developed in the bottom valleys of Northern Patagonia, Argentina, offer a natural solution for mitigating volcanic tephra impacts. By combining existing geographic information (North Patagonia wetland distribution map and tephra fallout deposit map), the extent of wet meadows affected by the 2011 Puyehue-Cordón Caulle Volcanic Complex (PCCVC) volcano was calculated. The regional amount of available forage in the aftermath of the eruption was estimated through field assessments of aerial net primary production (ANPP); this was conducted during the first peak of plant growth after the PCCVC volcanic event in 5 m x 5 m paired plots, both with and without manually removed tephra a month after the event. To compare the tephra effect on vegetation type throughout time, normalized vegetation index (NDVI) was used to monitor plant activity two years before, the following year, and five years after the PCCVC event in wet meadows and surrounding steppes. In addition, the regional amount of tephra removed from the environment and stabilized in the soil was assessed using prior research findings of ash immobilization and stabilization within meadow soil profiles five years after the PCCVC event. Around 106,000 ha (52%) of North Patagonian meadows were identified to be exposed to volcanic hazard. The plant growing season following the eruption generated, on average, 3929±2146 kg DM ha−1, indicating an active functional wet meadow recovery despite a 25-20% reduction in ANPP due to the tephra effect. NDVI data supported these findings, with the historical maximum level (0.46±0.02) being restored the year following the event, while surrounding steppes recovered at least three years after. Healthy wet meadows mitigated the adverse effects of around 2279 tons of regional tephra, while simultaneously providing nearly half a billion tons of fodder production the year following the eruption- a critical period of cattle food scarcity. These findings highlight the reduction of negative impacts following recurrent volcanic eruptions and underscore the positive effects of conserving, restoring, and sustainably managing wetlands as a Nature-Based Solution for Disaster Risk Reduction. EEA Bariloche Fil: Enriquez, Andrea Soledad. Instituto Nacional de Tecnologia Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias Bariloche; Argentina Fil: Enriquez, Andrea Soledad. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias Bariloche; Argentina Fil: Fernández, Manuela. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias Bariloche; Argentina Fil: Fernández, Manuela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias Bariloche; Argentina Fil: Fernández, Manuela. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche; Argentina Fil: Umaña, Fernando. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias Bariloche; Argentina Fil: Umaña, Fernando. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias Bariloche; Argentina Fil: Umaña, Fernando. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche; Argentina Fil: Cremona, Maria Victoria. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias Bariloche; Argentina Fil: Cremona, Maria Victoria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias Bariloche; Argentina Fil: Cremona, Maria Victoria. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche; Argentina 2025-04-23T11:45:01Z 2025-04-23T11:45:01Z 2025-06 info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/22005 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S277241152400096X 2772-4115 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nbsj.2024.100205 eng info:eu-repograntAgreement/INTA/2023-PD-L03-I131, Determinación de usos productivos, valoración económica y recomendaciones participativas para la gestión sostenible de los humedales info:eu-repograntAgreement/INTA/2023-PD-L02-I132, Estrategias para incrementar las reservas nacionales de carbono orgánico del suelo y contribuir a la neutralidad de la degradación de tierras info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess 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 Nature-Based Solutions 7 : 100205. (June 2025)
spellingShingle Tierras Húmedas
Servicios de los Ecosistemas
Suelo Volcánico
Solución Basadas en la Naturaleza
Wetlands
Ecosystem Services
Volcanic Soils
Nature-based Solutions
Ceniza Volcánica
Mallines
Humedales
Región Patagónica
Enriquez, Andrea Soledad
Fernandez, Manuela Teresa
Umaña, Fernando
Cremona, Maria Victoria
The role of healthy wetlands in mitigating volcanic tephra impacts in Northern Patagonia
title The role of healthy wetlands in mitigating volcanic tephra impacts in Northern Patagonia
title_full The role of healthy wetlands in mitigating volcanic tephra impacts in Northern Patagonia
title_fullStr The role of healthy wetlands in mitigating volcanic tephra impacts in Northern Patagonia
title_full_unstemmed The role of healthy wetlands in mitigating volcanic tephra impacts in Northern Patagonia
title_short The role of healthy wetlands in mitigating volcanic tephra impacts in Northern Patagonia
title_sort role of healthy wetlands in mitigating volcanic tephra impacts in northern patagonia
topic Tierras Húmedas
Servicios de los Ecosistemas
Suelo Volcánico
Solución Basadas en la Naturaleza
Wetlands
Ecosystem Services
Volcanic Soils
Nature-based Solutions
Ceniza Volcánica
Mallines
Humedales
Región Patagónica
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/22005
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S277241152400096X
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nbsj.2024.100205
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