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The damage and effects of fire on the native vegetation of Central Chile have been increasing in recent years due to drought conditions and the state of abandonment of the Mediterranean forests. The objective of this research was to study the damage and effects of fire in four regions of Central Chile, in order to establish adequate post-fire resto...
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... individuals are not always available in local nurseries, one must be prepared to collect seeds in the field and grow them before starting enrichment work. In this sense, one of the best alternatives is A. caven, since it appeared as a pioneer in the early successional stages of most of the Mediterranean area of Chile, and it presents a high percentage of germination in very short times (over 80% of germination in less than 2 weeks; some batches can reach over 90% in the first week), the seedlings are vigorous with low initial mortality, and have rapid growth under nursery conditions (Figure 2). However, as we mentioned earlier, A. caven is not compatible with all sclerophyllous associations in this area. ...
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Nothofagus alessandrii is an endangered species that is naturally distributed in a Mediterranean environment in central Chile. In recent years, this territory has been subject to the effects of climate change, especially an increase in summer temperatures and prolonged periods of drought. In the summer of 2017, there was a fire of great magnitude c...
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... Owing to the intense megadrought affecting the central region of Chile, the sclerophyll forest is under severe threat [27], which is one of the most relevant drivers of this research, and there has been a concentrated effort towards restoration of the ecosystem. To date, this restoration has not been as effective as expected, possibly due to natural factors like seed maturation or anthropogenic factors like intense forest fires [28] or fragmentation of the forest, which may lead to a constantly increasing endogamy, as observed in other ecosystems of the country [29,30]. Now, the identification of viral pathogens in sclerophyll forest species appears as a potential new agent that may impair the efficiency of restoration. ...
Biotic and abiotic stress seriously affects the development of plants, leading to the death of a significant number of plants in natural landscapes. Over the last twelve years, the central zone of Chile has been under an intensive drought, affecting the species inhabiting the Chilean Mediterranean forest, which is classified as a biological hotspot. In this context, our group started a small survey to monitor the presence of intracellular pathogens that may be infecting the plants, increasing the damage caused by the water deprivation. Several plants of one species, Persea lingue, showed symptoms of interveinal yellowing and leaf curling. RNA-seq analyses of one of these samples showed the presence of a long contig with high coverage only in symptomatic plants. Phylogenetic analysis and the molecular features indicated that it was a new species of the Ampelovirus genus. RT-PCR analyses determined the presence of the virus only in symptomatic plants of the same natural preserve.
... In the latter case, the recommendation is to intervene in the first instance on the soil to avoid the loss of primary productivity (García-Chevesich, 2015) due to the effects of combustion on the soil and roots (Keeley et al., 2008). The experiences in Mediterranean ecosystems such as Chile, focus on the implementation of measures for soil recovery (Fernández et al., 2010;Smith-Ramírez et al., 2011), construction of physical works to contain erosion, and those of a biological type such as the planting of species, direct seeding, and regeneration protection (Castillo and Plaza, 2022). In restoration, knowledge is required to reconcile the response of different species in terms of regeneration by seeds, shoots and competition for shade and nutrients. ...
The ecosystems of the Mediterranean regions are severely threatened by human activity, and although we have made progress in physical restoration measures, little is known about the interactions between the plants of these biomes. The objective of this study is to contribute to document interactions between seeds and seedlings of three woody species native to Chile (P. chilensis, Q. saponaria and A. caven), which could be used for restoration actions (e.g., after forest fires). In a first experiment, we evaluated the germination response, the initial elongation and the interactions between the seedlings that germinate exposed to the chemical compounds of the other species. In a second experiment, we compared the survival and growth of seedlings in monospecific versus bispecific mixtures, using a substrate similar to that which is present after a wildfire. Seed extracts of teguments promoted germination of P. chilensis, but cotyledons and whole seed extracts inhibited germination of only one species, Q. saponaria, with very high intensity. The effects of the extracts on initial seedling elongation were more variable, including five inhibitions and one facilitation. Negative effects on germination and elongation included two cases of autotoxicity. The survival of seedlings grown in mixtures showed only two differences between monospecific and bispecific mixtures, both positive, constituting a reciprocal effect between two species. Only in one case was there a significant difference in seedling growth, which was root growth inhibition. Indeed, these results reveal an interaction between species, the type and intensity of which varies according to the condition of the seed or seedling. The negative effect found in seedling root growth reflects an allelopathic interaction that conditions a vital aspect for the establishment of these species, so this information is an opportunity to improve the establishment conditions in future reforestation projects, by avoiding particular species or promoting their proportion in plantation mixtures, either by planting or direct seeding.
... The behavior of fire, defined as the set of physical, chemical, and mechanical effects that are observed in the environment affected by the fire, depends essentially on the availability or load of fuel on the forest floor and on the calorific value (potential energy) and propagation potential of this fuel (Castillo and Plaza, 2021). These conditions vary according to the type of vegetation. ...
Forest fires are a major issue worldwide, and especially in Mediterranean ecosystems where the frequency, extension and severity of wildfire events have increased related to longer and more intense droughts. Open access remote sensing and climate datasets make it possible to describe in detail the precursory environmental conditions triggering major fire events under drought conditions. In this study, a probabilistic methodological approach is proposed and tested to evaluate extreme drought conditions prior to the occurrence of a wildfire in Central Chile, an area suffering an unprecedented prolonged drought. Using 21 years of monthly records of gridded climate and remotely sensed vegetation water status data, we detected that vegetation at the ground level, by means of fine and dead fuel moisture (FDFM), and canopy level, by means of the enhanced vegetation index (EVI) were extremely dry for a period of about 8 months prior to the fire event, showing records that fall into the 2.5% of the lowest values recorded in 21 years. These extremely dry conditions of the vegetation, consequence of low air humidity and precipitation, favored the ignition and horizontal and vertical propagation of this major wildfire. Post fire, we found high severity values for the native vegetation affected by the fire, with dNBR values >0.44 3 days after the fire and significant damage to the Mediterranean sclerophyllous and deciduous forest present in the burned area. The proposed probabilistic model is presented as an innovation and an alternative to evaluate not only anomalies of the meteorological and vegetation indices that promote the generation of extreme events, but also how unusual or extreme these conditions are. This is achieved by placing the abnormal values in the context of the reference historical frequency distribution of all available records, in this case, more than 20 years of remote sensing and climate data. This methodology can be widely applied by fire researchers to identify critical precursory fire conditions in different ecosystems and define environmental indicators of fire risk.
