Fire and roller-chopping effects on forage production, plant diversity, and carbon storage in Neltuma woodlands of the Central Monte, Argentina
In dry forests, we face the challenge of maintaining forage production while conserving or enhancing ecosystem services and biodiversity. Management practices such as fire and roller-chopping are commonly used to increase grass production and support cattle grazing. However, cattle can alter forest...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo |
| Language: | Inglés |
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Elsevier
2025
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/23270 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167880925004050 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2025.109873 |
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| author | Meglioli, Pablo A. Morsucci Labiano, Marina Mora, Sebastian Álvarez, Leandro M. Zalazar, Gualberto Peri, Pablo Luis Villagra, Pablo Eugenio |
| author_browse | Meglioli, Pablo A. Mora, Sebastian Morsucci Labiano, Marina Peri, Pablo Luis Villagra, Pablo Eugenio Zalazar, Gualberto Álvarez, Leandro M. |
| author_facet | Meglioli, Pablo A. Morsucci Labiano, Marina Mora, Sebastian Álvarez, Leandro M. Zalazar, Gualberto Peri, Pablo Luis Villagra, Pablo Eugenio |
| author_sort | Meglioli, Pablo A. |
| collection | INTA Digital |
| description | In dry forests, we face the challenge of maintaining forage production while conserving or enhancing ecosystem services and biodiversity. Management practices such as fire and roller-chopping are commonly used to increase grass production and support cattle grazing. However, cattle can alter forest structure and plant diversity. Despite these practices in the native forests of the Monte desert, their effects on ecosystem function, particularly carbon storage, remain poorly understood. Here, we evaluated the effects of fire and roller-chopping on forest structure, plant diversity, and carbon storage in Neltuma woodlands of southern Mendoza, province, Argentina. We hypothesized that fire, by altering forest structure and reducing plant diversity, would lead to a greater reduction in carbon stocks than roller-chopping, which primarily affects the understory. We estimated carbon stocks in various ecosystem compartments under three forest land uses: reference forests, rolled forests, and burned forests. Our findings highlight how forest management practices modified tree density, canopy cover, and species richness, ultimately hampering carbon storage. Reference forests had the highest carbon storage, especially in trees, roots, and shrubs components, while fire-affected forests showed the lowest carbon stocks. Although no significant differences were observed in pools of herbs, litter, woody debris, and dead plants, reference forests consistently stored more carbon than both rolled or fire-affected forests. Roller-chopping forests exhibited intermediate values of carbon storage for most compartments. These results provide valuable insights for designing silvopastoral management strategies that balance livestock production, biodiversity conservation, and carbon storage. |
| format | info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo |
| id | INTA23270 |
| institution | Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA -Argentina) |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| publisherStr | Elsevier |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | INTA232702025-08-01T12:05:39Z Fire and roller-chopping effects on forage production, plant diversity, and carbon storage in Neltuma woodlands of the Central Monte, Argentina Meglioli, Pablo A. Morsucci Labiano, Marina Mora, Sebastian Álvarez, Leandro M. Zalazar, Gualberto Peri, Pablo Luis Villagra, Pablo Eugenio Bosques Bosque Seco Formación Boscosa Forrajes Carbono Incendios Forests Dry Forests Woodlands Forage Carbon Fires Prosopis Neltuma In dry forests, we face the challenge of maintaining forage production while conserving or enhancing ecosystem services and biodiversity. Management practices such as fire and roller-chopping are commonly used to increase grass production and support cattle grazing. However, cattle can alter forest structure and plant diversity. Despite these practices in the native forests of the Monte desert, their effects on ecosystem function, particularly carbon storage, remain poorly understood. Here, we evaluated the effects of fire and roller-chopping on forest structure, plant diversity, and carbon storage in Neltuma woodlands of southern Mendoza, province, Argentina. We hypothesized that fire, by altering forest structure and reducing plant diversity, would lead to a greater reduction in carbon stocks than roller-chopping, which primarily affects the understory. We estimated carbon stocks in various ecosystem compartments under three forest land uses: reference forests, rolled forests, and burned forests. Our findings highlight how forest management practices modified tree density, canopy cover, and species richness, ultimately hampering carbon storage. Reference forests had the highest carbon storage, especially in trees, roots, and shrubs components, while fire-affected forests showed the lowest carbon stocks. Although no significant differences were observed in pools of herbs, litter, woody debris, and dead plants, reference forests consistently stored more carbon than both rolled or fire-affected forests. Roller-chopping forests exhibited intermediate values of carbon storage for most compartments. These results provide valuable insights for designing silvopastoral management strategies that balance livestock production, biodiversity conservation, and carbon storage. EEA Rama Caída Fil: Meglioli, Pablo A. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales (IANIGLA); Argentina Fil: Meglioli, Pablo A. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales (IANIGLA); Argentina. Fil: Meglioli, Pablo A. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; Argentina Fil: Morsucci Labiano, Marina. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; Argentina Fil: Mora, Sebastián. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Rama Caída; Argentina Fil: Álvarez, Leandro M. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales (IANIGLA); Argentina Fil: Álvarez, Leandro M. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales (IANIGLA); Argentina. Fil: Zalazar, Gualberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales (IANIGLA); Argentina Fil: Zalazar, Gualberto. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales (IANIGLA); Argentina. Fil: Peri, Pablo Luis. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Santa Cruz; Argentina. Fil: Peri, Pablo Luis. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia Austral; Argentina. Fil: Peri, Pablo Luis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Fil: Villagra, Pablo Eugenio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales (IANIGLA); Argentina. Fil: Villagra, Pablo Eugenio. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales (IANIGLA); Argentina. Fil: Villagra, Pablo Eugenio. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; Argentina 2025-08-01T12:02:33Z 2025-08-01T12:02:33Z 2025-12 info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/23270 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167880925004050 0167-8809 1873-2305 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2025.109873 eng 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 Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 394 : 109873. (December 2025) |
| spellingShingle | Bosques Bosque Seco Formación Boscosa Forrajes Carbono Incendios Forests Dry Forests Woodlands Forage Carbon Fires Prosopis Neltuma Meglioli, Pablo A. Morsucci Labiano, Marina Mora, Sebastian Álvarez, Leandro M. Zalazar, Gualberto Peri, Pablo Luis Villagra, Pablo Eugenio Fire and roller-chopping effects on forage production, plant diversity, and carbon storage in Neltuma woodlands of the Central Monte, Argentina |
| title | Fire and roller-chopping effects on forage production, plant diversity, and carbon storage in Neltuma woodlands of the Central Monte, Argentina |
| title_full | Fire and roller-chopping effects on forage production, plant diversity, and carbon storage in Neltuma woodlands of the Central Monte, Argentina |
| title_fullStr | Fire and roller-chopping effects on forage production, plant diversity, and carbon storage in Neltuma woodlands of the Central Monte, Argentina |
| title_full_unstemmed | Fire and roller-chopping effects on forage production, plant diversity, and carbon storage in Neltuma woodlands of the Central Monte, Argentina |
| title_short | Fire and roller-chopping effects on forage production, plant diversity, and carbon storage in Neltuma woodlands of the Central Monte, Argentina |
| title_sort | fire and roller chopping effects on forage production plant diversity and carbon storage in neltuma woodlands of the central monte argentina |
| topic | Bosques Bosque Seco Formación Boscosa Forrajes Carbono Incendios Forests Dry Forests Woodlands Forage Carbon Fires Prosopis Neltuma |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/23270 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167880925004050 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2025.109873 |
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