Juan Pablo Fuentes

Evaluation of impacts of management in an anthropogenic peatland using field and remote sensing data

Peatlands are a type of wetland characterized by the accumulation of organic matter, called peat, and are important carbon reservoirs. In areas with poor drainage, human-induced forest fires and logging can produce flooded conditions and organic matter accumulation, which generates an ecosystem called anthropogenic peatland. Productive management activities such as Sphagnum moss harvesting and livestock grazing take place there. Our hypothesis was that productive management has a strong impact on the aboveground C reservoir and increases the presence of exotic species. We established 44 sampling points in a 16-ha anthropogenic peatland on Chiloe Island, Chile, comparing productive and conservation types of managements. Carbon stocks, vegetation structure and composition variables were quantified. These variables were used to classify the ecosystem into microsites to analyze the different locations in the peatland. In addition, predictive models of aboveground carbon were created using Landsat 8 OLI and Pleiades images. The results revealed a carbon stock of 11.99 ± 0.77 kg C m−2, which is smaller than in natural peatlands, and showed a wide variability of conditions within the peatland itself. This variability, mainly expressed in aboveground carbon, produces microsites dominated by either shrubs, species of the genus Juncus or grasses. Productive management reduced accumulated carbon in the aboveground stock and in the woody debris. However, the strongest impact was found on the vegetation variables, with a decrease in total cover, cover of shrubs and herbaceous plants, and in vegetation height. There was also an increase in the richness and presence of exotic species. The spatial prediction of aboveground carbon yielded significant results using only spectral indices, showing also that the impact of productive management is not homogenous, being less intense in waterlogged areas. This study is the first to quantify carbon reservoirs in this type of ecosystem and to propose variables that can be used as indicators of the impact of human activities.

Tree carbon stock in evergreen forests of Chiloé, Chile

The carbon stock associated with tree biomass was estimated in evergreen forests near the town of Inio in Chiloe Island, Chile (43o21’ S, 74o07’ W), analyzin...

Assessing water use and soil water balance of planted native tree species under strong water limitations in Northern Chile

Some forest plantations with native species are established in semiarid central Chile to compensate for industrial activities such as those of mining. Two of those operational forest plantations were monitored from age 1 to 3xa0years-old (2014–2016). Some plant attributes and soil volumetric water content (VWC) were monitored for eight native tree species (Acacia caven, Schinus polygamus, Porlieria chilensis, Lithraea caustica, Quillaja saponaria, Cryptocarya alba, Drimys winteri and Maytenus boaria), and a water balance model fitted to assess plant water use. Site preparation comprised planting holes of 40xa0cmu2009×u200940xa0cm by 50xa0cm in depth dug with a backhoe. Substrate was removed and mixed with compost in proportion 70:30 before mixing it in the planting hole. Planting holes acted as water reservoirs over the study period with soil VWC generally increasing with soil depth being also less variable deeper than in the upper soil layers. The ratio of adaxial (upper leaf side) to abaxial (lower leaf side) stomatal conductance approximately followed a species gradient from xeric to mesic. Irrigation represented about 26% and 53% of the total water input for the sclerophyll and the D. winteri plantation, respectively. At the plant level (0.4u2009×u20090.4xa0m), soil evaporation and transpiration of D. winteri (273 and 232xa0mmxa0year−1, equivalent to 43.7 and 37.1xa0Lxa0plant−1, respectively) were about twofold the values for the sclerophyllous/malacophyllous plantation (138 and 128xa0mmxa0year−1, 22.1 and 20.5xa0Lxa0plant−1, respectively). We suggest the water budget for the sclerophyll/malacophyllous plantation was tight but feasible to be adjusted while for D. winteri irrigation was excessive, could be drastically reduced, and suppressed altogether if planted in gullies. We believe water balance models and soil moisture content sensors could be used to better plan and manage irrigation frequency and amounts in compensation forest plantations in semiarid central Chile.

Can conservation in protected areas and visitor preferences converge? An empirical study in Central Chile

The assessment of visitors’ willingness to pay (WTP) to achieve scenarios that guarantee good conservation status in protected areas and that positively contribute to visitor experience is crucial to revealing the potential to harmonize the development of nature-based tourism and the conservation of biodiversity. We estimated visitors’ WTP for a variety of environmental attributes in a protected area in a biodiversity hotspot in central Chile. Using a choice experiment (CE), WTP was estimated for the protection of animals, plants, and soil; for guaranteeing the provision of ecosystem services related to water resources; and for increasing touristic infrastructure. Among animals and plants, the marginal mean WTP/visitor/visit for single levels of variation in the attribute ranged from ~xa0US

Soil organic C as affected by silvicultural and exploitative interventions in Nothofagus pumilio forests of the Chilean Patagonia

1.4 (for herbaceous species) to ~xa0US

Litter Removal in a Sclerophyll Forest: Short- and Medium-Term Consequences for Soil Properties

7 (for birds). The WTP for soil protection in camping areas and walking trails reached a mean of ~xa0US

How many measurements are needed to estimate accurate daily and annual soil respiration fluxes? Analysis using data from a temperate rainforest

2.8. The mean WTP for guaranteeing the provision of water benefits ranged from US

Pedogenic and microbial interrelations to regional climate and local topography: New insights from a climate gradient (arid to humid) along the Coastal Cordillera of Chile

− 1.98 (for activities such as hydroelectricity and mining) to ~xa0US

Chemistry and microbiology of the Critical Zone along a steep climate and vegetation gradient in the Chilean Coastal Cordillera

5.6 (for the conservation of biodiversity and ecological processes). Small increases in infrastructure for recreation are well accepted by visitors (a mean WTP of US

Assessing visitors’ preferences for ecosystem features in a desert biodiversity hotspot

1.50) compared to medium or large increases, which generate a negative WTP. Our results indicate that the protected area conservation and visitor preferences can converge. Broader assessments that include multiple biological attributes have emerged as useful approaches in designing management strategies for protected areas that align with conservation goals and visitor preferences.