Background and aims

: The practice of restoration is a source of valuable experience that, analyzed and disseminated, contributes to the improvement of interventions for the recovery of degraded areas. From this conception, in this work we evaluate an outplanting of Prosopis denudans var. denudans in an arid zone located at Auca Mahuida Protected Area (Neuquén, Argentina). The objectives were: to analyze the effect of hydrogel applications after 11 months after planting; and determine the incidence of predation of herbivorous vertebrates in the same period.

M&M

: A total of 651 nursery seedlings were planted distributed in two abandoned quarries. We apply the treatments % l of hydrogel; 1 l of hydrogel and control (without hydrogel), and protection vs. no protection of metal mesh to evaluate survival and predation. The results were analyzed with generalized linear models.

Results

: The survival was significantly higher and statistically different for seedlings with % l of hydrogel and metal mesh protection. The protected plants were no predated, and survival in no protected plants was reduced 50% approximately.

Conclusions

: The results show that the chances of survival may be greater with protectors against herbivorous mammals and hydrogel in restoration plantations. However, it is necessary to increase studies on the relationships between root growth and hydrogel doses in different edaphic conditions, particularly in species that can be the framework for the recovery of degraded areas.