Abstract
Forest plantations can positively influence ecosystem patterns and processes, but afforestation based on monocultures can also affect plant diversity and should therefore be soundly designed. In the Aguas Frías Forest Station, Argentina, planting areas were determined using a geopedologic and ecological approach, and project effects on vegetation and soil were assessed. In 2007, a fence was installed around the station for protection against herbivores and a fire control system was implemented. Vegetation cover in the study area includes natural steppes, meadows, forests, and a relict scrubland. Soils are Andisols derived from cinder and pumice of Holocene volcanic activity. Main soils are Humic (45 %) and Aquic Udivitrands (6 %), and Typic Endoaquands (14 %). Suitable land for forest tree planting comprised 160 ha, taking into account soil fertility and planting restriction on valuable ecosystems. Geopedology has proven to be useful for assessing land suitability for pine plantation. Ecological indicators related to plant diversity, forest regeneration, and soil protection show improvement after 7 years of project implementation. These variables should be carefully monitored so that the social, conservation, and economic objectives of the project can be sustainably achieved.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Broquen P, Girardín J, Falbo G et al (1998) Modelos estimadores de IS14 en Pinus ponderosa Dougl. Bosque 19(1):71–79
Cabrera A (1971) Fitogeografía de la República Argentina. Bol Soc Arg Bot 14:1–42
CBD (2010) Strategic plan for biodiversity 2011–2020 and the Aichi targets. Secretariat of the convention on biological diversity. Available via DIALOG. http://www.cbd.int/doc/strategic-plan/2011-2020/Aichi-Targets-EN.pdf. Accessed 30 Nov 2014
CFI-MDT (2009) Inventario del bosque implantado de la provincia de Neuquén. Consejo Federal de Inversiones, Ministerio de Desarrollo Territorial, Neuquén
Chao A, Jost L, Chiang S et al (2008) A two-stage probabilistic approach to multiple-community similarity indices. Biometrics 64:1178–1186
Corley J, Sackmann P, Rusch V et al (2006) Effects of pine silviculture on the ant assemblages (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the Patagonian steppe. For Ecol Manage 222:162–166
Dezzotti A, Sbrancia R, Acciaresi G et al (2013) Fortalezas ambientales y sociales de un programa forestal de desarrollo implementado en la Patagonia semiárida argentina. In: Pérez D, Rovere A, Rodríguez Araujo M (eds) Restauración de la diagonal árida de la Argentina. Larrea-INTA-CONICET, Buenos Aires, pp 468–477
Diserud OH, Ødegaard F (2007) A multiple-site similarity measure. Biol Lett 3:20–22
DPF (2009) Elaboración de un mapa de plantaciones forestales de la República Argentina de actualización permanente. Dirección de Producción Forestal, Ministerio de Agricultura, Ganadería y Pesca, Buenos Aires
FAO (1984) Land evaluation for forestry, FAO forestry paper 48. Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome
FAO (2014) El estado de los bosques del mundo: potenciar los beneficios socioeconómicos de los bosques. Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome
Ferrer JA (1991) Geología: estudio regional de suelos de la provincia del Neuquén. Consejo Federal de Inversiones – Consejo de Planificación y Acción para el Desarrollo, Neuquén
Girardín J, Broquen P (1995) El crecimiento de Pinus ponderosa y Pseudotsuga menziesii en diferentes condiciones de sitio. Bosque 16(2):57–69
González Díaz E, Ferrer JA (1991) Geomorfología: estudio regional de suelos de la provincia del Neuquén. Consejo Federal de Inversiones – Consejo de Planificación y Acción para el Desarrollo, Neuquén
Hansen M, Stehman S, Potapov P (2010) Quantification of global gross forest cover loss. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 107(19):8650–8655
Kent M (2011) Vegetation description and data analysis: a practical approach. Wiley-Blackwell, New York
La Manna L, Buduba C, Gigli A et al. (2013) Efecto de las plantaciones sobre la erosión hídrica potencial en suelos degradados de la Región Andino Patagónica. In: Abstracts of the II Jornadas Forestales de Patagonia Sur, Calafate, 16–17 May 2013
Laclau P (2003) Biomass and carbon sequestration of ponderosa pine plantations and native cypress forests in northwest Patagonia. For Ecol Manage 180:317–333
Lantschner MV, Rusch V, Hayes JP (2012) Habitat use by carnivores at different spatial scales in a plantation forest landscape in Patagonia, Argentina. For Ecol Manage 269:271–278
Lindquist EJ, D’Annunzio R, Gerrand A et al (2012) Global forest land-use change 1990–2005, Forestry paper 169. FAO, Rome
Mizota C, van Reeuwijk LP (1989) Clay mineralogy and chemistry of soils formed in volcanic material in diverse climatic regions, Soil monograph 2. Institute of Soil Reference and Information Centre, Wageningen
Najera A, Simonetti JA (2010) Enhancing avifauna in commercial plantations. Conserv Biol 24:319–324
Nosetto MD, Jobbágy EG, Paruelo JM (2006) Carbon sequestration in semiarid rangelands: comparison of Pinus ponderosa plantations and grazing exclusion in NW Patagonia. J Arid Environ 67:142–156
Paritsis J, Aizen M (2008) Effects of exotic conifer plantations on the biodiversity of understory plants, epigeal beetles and birds in Nothofagus dombeyi forests. For Ecol Manage 255:1575–1583
Peel MC, Finlayson BL, McMahon TA (2007) Updated world map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification. Hydrol Earth Syst Sci 11:1633–1644
Rosenzweig ML (2003) Reconciliation ecology and the future of species diversity. Oryx 37:194–205
SAyDS (2007) Primer inventario nacional de bosques nativos. Secretaría de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sustentable, Buenos Aires
Schoeneberger PJ, Wysocki DA, Benham EC et al (1998) Field book for describing and sampling soils (ver 1.1). Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA National Soil Survey Center, Lincoln
Simonetti JA, Grez A, Estades C (2013) Providing habitat for native mammals through understory enhancement in forestry plantations. Conserv Biol 27(5):1117–1121
Simpson EH (1949) Measurement of diversity. Nature 163:688
Soil Survey Staff (1994) Keys to soil taxonomy. US Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, Pocahontas Press, Blacksburg
Suárez A, Girardín J, Broquen P et al (2012) Potencialidad forestal de los suelos de una toposecuencia representativa de la región extrandina, SO de Neuquén, Argentina. In: Abstracts of the XXIII Congreso Argentino de la Ciencia del Suelo, Mar del Plata, 16–20 April 2012
van Zuidam RA (1985) Aerial photo-interpretation in terrain analysis and geomorphologic mapping. Smith Publishers, The Hague
Zinck JA (2013) Geopedology. Elements of geomorphology for soil and geohazard studies. ITC Special Lecture Notes Series, Enschede
Acknowledgements
This study was funded by the Universidad Nacional del Comahue (UNCo) (project 04/S017), the Secretaría de Agricultura, Ganadería y Pesca de la Nación (grant 12004), and YPF S.A. Assistance of J Rizzo, C Calleja (YPF), L Sancholuz, L Chauchard, C Dufilho, R González Musso, H Attis, C Monte, M Catalán, H Mattes, S Tiranti, V Fontana, R Gönck, A Suárez, J Curruhuinca (UNCo), and the staff of CORFONE is gratefully acknowledged.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Frugoni, M.C., Dezzotti, A., Medina, A., Sbrancia, R., Mortoro, A. (2016). Design and Evaluation of an Afforestation Project Based on Geopedologic and Ecological Information in North-Western Patagonia, Argentina. In: Zinck, J.A., Metternicht, G., Bocco, G., Del Valle, H.F. (eds) Geopedology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-19159-1_30
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-19159-1_30
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-19158-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-19159-1
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)