Variable retention harvesting influences belowground plant-fungal interactions of Nothofagus pumilio seedlings in forests of southern Patagonia.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The post-harvest recovery and sustained productivity of Nothofagus pumilio forests in Tierra del Fuego may be affected by the abundance and composition of ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF). Timber harvesting alters EMF community structure in many managed forests, but the impacts of harvesting can vary with the management strategy. The implementation of variable retention (VR) management can maintain, increase, or decrease the diversity of many species, but the effects of VR on EMF in the forests of southern Patagonia have not been studied, nor has the role of EMF in the regeneration process of these forests.

Methods

We evaluated the effects of VR management on the EMF community associated with N. pumilio seedlings. We quantified the abundance, composition,

SUBMITTER: Hewitt RE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6037133 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature