Resumen

CARON, María M.; DALMASSO, Antonio D.; ORTIN, Adriana E.  y  VERHEYEN, Kris. Regeneration after fire in the Monte tropical dry forest, northwestern Argentina. Multequina [online]. 2015, vol.24, n.1, pp.05-17. ISSN 1852-7329.

The tropical dry forest represents 42% of the global surface of tropical forest, but these unique ecosystems are under strong pressure of human activities. Anthropogenic disturbances resulted in a dramatic reduction of the extent of Prosopis forests in the Monte region (Argentina). Considering its degree of degradation, forest regeneration is essential for the long term maintenance of this system. The most important disturbance in these forests is fire, but the knowledge about post-fire vegetation dynamics is limited in the north of the Monte. We analyzed three co-existing forest conditions: intact forest, burned non-flooded forest, and burned flooded forest. The species richness and structure of the vegetation was analyzed. The regeneration strategies of the two main forest tree species (Prosopis spp. and Geoffroea decorticans) were analyzed recording the strategy type (year 2008), the temporal variation in seedling establishment (period 2008-2010), and height growth of the seedlings. The richness and understory structure were highly influenced by fire and floodings. The main strategies for regeneration were base sprout and root sprouts for Prosopis and G. decorticans, respectively. The number of seedlings was more than two times higher after two years from the first measurement, while the height growth seemed strongly influenced by water availability. We concluded that the recovery of the forest is influenced by the nature and timing of the disturbances. It is likely that the two disturbed environments will gradually evolve and ultimately show more similarities with the intact forest. However, the management of sprouts can help the sprouts to reach a considerable height in favor of shift in the understory structure and composition. The control of grazing is important to protect the seedlings and ensure a high genetic variability.

Palabras clave : Fire; Tree seedlings; Tree sprouts; Understory vegetation.

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