Keywords
cluster analysis
environmental segregation
Mountain Chaco
subtropical forest
woody aliens
análisis jerárquicos de agrupamiento
bosque subtropical
Chaco Serrano
invasiones biológicas
leñosas exóticas
segregación ambiental
How to Cite
Abstract
Invasions by exotic woody species are threatening ecosystem functions worldwide. The spread and subsequent replacement of native forest by exotic dominated stands is particularly evident nearby urban centers were exotic propagule pressure is highest. Yet, there is a lack of information on the environmental factors that underlie these replacements. In this study we addressed the following questions: (1) ¿is there a local spatial segregation between the dominant native and exotic woody species? and (2) if this local segregation does exist, is it driven by environmental features?. For this, in 2010 we established 31 plots distributed along 16 sampling site we surveyed the composition and abundance of all woody species with a basal diameter ≥ 5cm. To characterize the environment of each plot, we measured the topographic position (slope, exposure) and different properties such as soil physics (bulk density, soil impedance), structure (soil deep, texture) and chemical characteristics (pH, nutrient and water content). Through a cluster analysis we were able to identify five different woody communities in coexistence: (1) Woodlands dominated by the exotic Ligustrum lucidum; (2) Mixed woodlands dominated by the native Lithraea molleoides and the exotic Celtis australis; (3) Scrublands dominated by the native Condalia buxifolia; (4) Scrublands dominated by the exotic Cotoneaster glaucophyllus, and (5) Scrubby grasslands with the exotic Pyracantha angustifolia. These communities were all associated with different local topographic and edaphic features. The environmental segregation among the identified communities suggests that woody invaders have the potential to colonize almost all the environments of the study site (though varying in the identity of the dominant exotic species). The observed patterns, even being restricted to a single well invaded area of mountain Chaco, may posit the spread of woody invaders towards native communities in the regionReferences
Begon, M., Harper, J. L., & Townsend, C. R. (1999). Ecología: individuos, poblaciones y comunidades. Barcelona, España: Omega.
Bledsoe, B. P. & Shear, H. T. (2000). Vegetation along hydrological and edaphic gradients in a North Carolina coastal plain creek bottom and implications for restoration. Wetlands, 20, 126-147.
Bremner, J. M. (1996). Nitrogen - Total. In D. L. Sparks, A. L. Page, P. A. Helmke, R. H. Loeppert, P. N. Soltanpour, M. A. Tabatabai, C. T. Johnston, & M. E. Sumner (Eds.), Methods of Soil Analysis. Part 3 – Chemical Methods (pp. 961-1010). Madison, Wisconsin: SSSA, CSSA.
Brown, A., Martínez Ortiz, U., Acerbi, M., & Corcuera, J. (Eds.). (2006). La Situación Ambiental Argentina 2005. Buenos Aires, Argentina: Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina.
Cabido, M. R. & Zak, M. (1999). Vegetación del norte de Córdoba. Córdoba, Argentina: SAGyRR.
Cabrera, A. L. (1976). Regiones fitogeográficas argentinas. In W. F. Kugler (Ed.), Enciclopedia Argentina de Agricultura y Jardinería (pp. 1-85). Buenos Aires, Argentina: ACME.
Chen, Z. S., Hsieh, C. F., Jiang, F. Y., Hsieh, T. H., & Sun, I. F. (1997). Relations of soil properties to topography and vegetation in a subtropical rain forest in southern Taiwan. Plant Ecology, 132, 229-241.
Cingolani, A. M., Cabido, M. R., Renison, D., & Solís Neffa, V. (2003). Combined effects of environment and grazing on vegetation structure in Argentine granite grasslands. Journal of Vegetation Science, 14, 223-232.
Cingolani, A. M., Gurvich, D. E., Zeballos, S. R., & Renison, D. (2010). Sin ecosistemas saludables no hay agua segura. El caso de Córdoba. Revista Única, 111, 48-52.
Clark, D. B., Palmer, M. W., & Clark, D. A. (1999). Edaphic factors and the landscape-scale distribution of tropical rain forest trees. Ecology, 80, 2662-2675.
Colautti, R. I., Grigorovich, I. A., & MacIsaac, H. J. (2006). Propagule pressure: A null model for biological invasions. Biological Invasions, 8, 1023-1037.
Crooks, J. A. (2002). Characterizing ecosystem-level consequences of biological invasions: The role of ecosystem engineers. Oikos, 97, 153-166.
Cushman, S. A. & Wallin, D. O. (2002). Separating the effects of environmental, spatial and disturbance factors on forest community structure in the Russian Far East. Forest Ecology and Management, 168, 201-215.
Davis, M. A., Grime, J. P., & Thompson, K. (2000). Fluctuating resources in plant communities, a general theory of invasibility. Journal of Ecology, 88, 528-534.
Day, P. R. (1986). Particle fractionation and particle-size analysis. In A. Klute (Ed.), Methods of Soil Analysis. Part I. Madison, Wisconsin: American Society of agronomy, Soil Science Society of America.
de Fina, A. L. (1992). Aptitud agroclimática de la República Argentina. Buenos Aires, Argentina: Academia Nacional de Agronomía y Veterinaria.
Ehrenfeld, J. G. (2003). Effects of exotic plant invasions on soil nutrient cycling processes. Ecosystems, 6, 503-523.
Ehrenfeld, J. G. (2004). The expression of multiple functions in urban forested wetlands. Wetlands, 24, 719-733.
Foti, T. & Blaney, M. (1994). A Classification System for the Natural Vegetation of Arkansas. Proceedings Arkansas Academy of Science, 48, 50-53.
Furey, C., Tecco, P. A., Perez-Harguindeguy, N., Giorgis, M. A., & Grossi, M. (2014). The importance of native and exotic plant identity and dominance on decomposition patterns in mountain woodlands of central Argentina. Acta Oecologica, 54, 13-20.
Gavier-Pizarro, G. I. & Bucher, E. H. (2004). Deforestación de las Sierras Chicas de Córdoba (Argentina) en el período 1970-1997. Córdoba, Argentina: Academia Nacional de Ciencias.
Gavier-Pizarro, G. I., Radeloff, V. C., Stewart, S. I., Huebner, C. D., & Keuler, N. S. (2010). Rural housing is related to plant invasions in forests of southern Wisconsin, USA. Landscape Ecology, 25, 1505-1518.
Gavier-Pizarro, G. I., Kuemmerle, T., Hoyos, L. E., Stewart, S. I., Huebner, C. D., Keuler, N. S., & Radeloff, V. C. (2012). Monitoring the invasion of an exotic tree Ligustrum lucidum from 1983 to 2006 with Landsat TM/ETM+ satellite data and Support Vector Machines in Córdoba, Argentina. Remote Sensing of Environment, 122, 134-145.
Giantomasi, A., Tecco, P. A., Funes, G., Gurvich, D. E., & Cabido, M. (2008). Canopy effects of the invasive shrub Pyracantha angustifolia on seed bank composition, richness and density in a montane shrubland (Córdoba, Argentina). Austral Ecology, 33, 68-77.
Giorgis, M. A. (2011). Caracterización florística y estructural del Bosque Chaqueño Serrano (Córdoba) en relación a gradientes ambientales y de uso (Tesis de Doctorado). Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina.
Giorgis, M. A., Cingolani, A. M., Chiarini, F., Chiapella, J., Barboza, G., Espinar, L. A., Morero, R., Gurvich, D. E., Tecco, P. A., Subils, R., & Cabido, M. (2011a). Composición florística del Bosque Chaqueño serrano de la provincia de Córdoba, Argentina. Kurtziana, 36, 9-43.
Giorgis, M. A., Tecco, P. A., Cingolani, A. M., Renison, D., Marcora P., & Paiaro, V. (2011b). Factors associated with woody alien species distribution in a newly invaded mountain system of central Argentina. Biological Invasions, 13, 1423-1434.
Giorgis, M. A., Cingolani, A. M., Gurvich, D. E., Tecco P. A., & Cabido, M. (2013). ¿Cuán estrecha es la relación entre la fisonomía y la composición florística a lo largo de gradientes ambientales en los “ecosistemas inciertos”? Boletín de la Sociedad Argentina de Botánica, suplemento 48.
Grman, E. & Suding, K. N. (2010). Within-Year Soil Legacies Contribute to Strong Priority Effects of Exotics on Native California Grassland Communities. Restoration Ecology, 18, 664-670.
Gurvich, D. E., Tecco, P. A., & Díaz, S. (2005). Plant invasions in undisturbed ecosystems: The triggering attribute approach. Journal of Vegetation Science, 16, 723-728.
Hejda, M., Pyšek, P., & Jarošík, V. (2009). Impact of invasive plants on the species richness, diversity and composition of invaded communities. Journal of Ecology, 97, 393-403.
Hoyos, L. E., Gavier-Pizarro, G. I., Kuemmerle, T., Bucher, E. H., Radeloff, V. C., & Tecco, P. A. (2010). Invasion of glossy privet (Ligustrum lucidum) and native forest loss in the Sierras Chicas of Córdoba, Argentina. Biological invasions, 12, 3261-3275.
Hulme, P. E. (2006). Beyond control: Wider implications for the management of biological invasions. Journal of Applied Ecology, 43, 835-847.
Jobbágy, E. G., Acosta, A. M., & Nosetto, M. D. (2013). Rendimiento hídrico en cuencas primarias bajo pastizales y plantaciones de pino de las sierras de Córdoba (Argentina). Ecología Austral, 23, 87-96.
Kakembo, V., Rowntree, K., & Palmer, A. R. (2007). Topographic controls on the invasion of Pteronia incana (Blue bush) onto hillslopes in Ngqushwa (formerly Peddie) district, Eastern Cape, South Africa. Catena, 70, 185-199.
Kolb, A., Alpert, P., Enters, D., & Holzapfel, C. (2002). Patterns of Invasion within a Grassland Community. Journal of Ecology, 90, 871-881.
Levine, J. M., Vila, M., Antonio, C. M., Dukes, J. S., Grigulis, K., & Lavorel, S. (2003). Mechanisms underlying the impacts of exotic plant invasions. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, 270, 775-781.
Lichstein, J. W., Grau, H. R., & Aragón, R. (2004). Recruitment limitation in secondary forests dominated by an exotic tree. Journal of Vegetation Science, 15, 721-728.
MacDougall, A. S., Boucher, J., Turkington R., & Bradfield, G. E. (2006). Patterns of plant invasion along an environmental stress gradient. Journal of Vegetation Science, 17, 47-56.
Mack, R. N., Simberloff, D., Mark Lonsdale, W., Evans, H., Clout, M., & Bazzaz, F. A. (2000). Biotic invasions: causes, epidemiology, global consequences, and control. Ecological Applications, 10, 689-710.
Mack, M. C. & D'Antonio, C. M. (2003). Exotic grasses alter controls over soil nitrogen dynamics in Hawaiian woodland. Ecological Applications, 13, 154-166.
Marchante, E., Kjøller, A., Struwe, S., & Freitas, H. (2009). Soil recovery after removal of the N2-fixing invasive Acacia longifolia: Consequences for ecosystem restoration. Biological Invasions, 11, 813-823.
McKinney, M. L. & Lockwood, J. L. (1999). Biotic homogenization: a few winners replacing many losers in the next mass extinction. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 14, 450-453.
Nelson, D. W. & Sommers, L. E. (1996). Total Carbon, Organic carbon, and Organic Matter. In D. L. Sparks, A. L. Page, P. A. Helmke, R. H. Loeppert, P. N. Soltanpour, M. A. Tabatabai, C. T. Johnston, & M. E. Sumner (Eds.), Methods of Soil Analysis. Part 3 – Chemical Methods (pp. 961-1010). Madison, Wisconsin: ASA, SSSA, CSSA.
Nichols, G. E. (1923). A Working Basis for the Ecological Classification of Plant Communities. Ecology, 4, 154-179.
Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Educación, la Ciencia y la Cultura [UNESCO]. (1973). Clasificación internacional y cartografía de la vegetación (pp. 1-112).
Pauchard, A., Kueffer, C., Dietz, H., Daehler, C. C., Alexander, J., Edwards, P. J., Arévalo, J. R., Cavieres, L. A., Guisan, A., Haider, S., Jakobs, G., McDougall, K., Millar, C. I., Naylor, B. J., Parks, C. G., Rew, L. J., & Seipel, T. (2009). Ain’t no mountain high enough: plant invasions reaching new elevations. Frontier Ecology Environment, 7, 479-486.
R Development Core Team. (2012). R: A Language and environment for statistical computing. Vienna, Austria: R. Foundation for Statistical Computing. Recuperado de http://www.R-roject.org, Vienna, Austria.
Schofield, C. J. & Bucher, E. H. (1986). Industrial Contributions to Desertification in South America. Tree, 1, 78-80.
Simberloff, D. (2009). The Role of Propagule Pressure in Biological Invasions. Annual Review of Ecology Evolution and Systematics, 40, 81-102.
Strayer, D. L., Eviner, V. T., Jeschke, J. M., & Pace, M. L. (2006). Understanding the long-term effects of species invasions. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 21, 645-651.
Tecco, P. A., Gurvich, D. E., Díaz, S., Pérez-Harguindeguy, N., & Cabido, M. (2006). Positive interaction between invasive plants: The influence of Pyracantha angustifolia on the recruitment of native and exotic woody species. Austral Ecology, 31, 293-300.
Tecco, P. A., Diaz, S., Gurvich, D. E., Perez-Harguindeguy, N., Cabido, M., & Bertone, G. A. (2007). Facilitation and interference underlying the association between the woody invaders Pyracantha angustifolia and Ligustrum lucidum. Applied Vegetation Science, 10, 211-218.
Tecco, P. A., Urcelay, C., Díaz, S., Cabido, M., & Pérez-Harguindeguy, N. (2013). Contrasting functional trait syndromes underlay woody alien success in the same ecosystem. Austral Ecology, 38, 443-451.
Thomas, G. W. (1996). Soil pH and soil acidity. In D. L. Sparks, A. L. Page, P. A. Helmke, R. H. Loeppert, P. N. Soltanpour, M. A. Tabatabai, C. T. Johnston, & M. E. Sumner (Eds.), Methods of Soil analysis. Part 3 – Chemical Methods (Capítulo 16). Madison, Wisconsin: ASA, SSSA, CSSA.
Throop, H. L., Archer, S. R., Monger, H. C., & Waltman, S. (2012). When bulk density methods matter: implications for estimating soil organic carbon pools in rocky soils. Journal of Arid Environments, 77, 66-71.
Whittaker, R. H. (1970). Communities and ecosystems. New York: McMillan.
Wolfe, B. E. & Klironomos, J. N. (2005). Breaking new ground: soil communities and exotic plant invasion. Bioscience, 55, 477-487.
Woodward, F. I. (1987). Climate and plant distribution. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Zak, M. R., Cabido, M., & Hodgson, J. G. (2004). Do subtropical seasonal forest in the Gran Chaco, Argentina, have a future? Biological Conservation, 120, 589-598.
Zuloaga, F. O., Morrone, O., & Belgrano, M. J. (2008). Catalogue of the vascular plants of the southern cone (Argentina, southern Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay). Missouri: Missouri Botanical Garden Press.
Comments
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2014 Revista de Biología Tropical