Defining reference forests for management, restoration and conservation: a multidimensional evaluation of Nothofagus pumilio forests

Autores
Chaves, Jimena Elizabeth; Rodríguez‑Souilla, Julián; Cellini, Juan Manuel; Lencinas, María Vanessa; Peri, Pablo Luis; Martínez Pastur, Guillermo José
Año de publicación
2026
Idioma
inglés
Tipo de recurso
artículo
Estado
versión publicada
Descripción
Background: Reference forests provide essential benchmarks for conservation, forest management, and ecological restoration. However, they are commonly represented by a single old-growth condition and primarily characterized by structural attributes, overlooking both the natural variability generated by forest development under natural disturbance regimes and other ecosystem dimensions relevant to these objectives. Characterizing the natural range of variation across forest developmental stages through multiple ecological dimensions can improve the definition and selection of reference conditions by capturing the diversity of ecosystem states that occur throughout forest development. We proposed a seven developmental stages model representing the natural dynamic cycle of Nothofagus pumilio forests in Tierra del Fuego (Argentina), encompassing both even- and uneven-aged stand structures generated by natural disturbance regimes. By integrating forest structure, soil, understory vegetation, and animal use, we aimed to identify multidimensionally reference forests within this natural range of variability for management, restoration and conservation objectives, using univariate, multivariate, and integrative index analyses. Results: Forest developmental stages differed consistently in structural attributes, while soil, understory vegetation, and animal use exhibited more gradual or dimension-specific responses. Live tree volume, coarse woody debris, dead tree density, and soil phosphorus emerged as useful indicators of forest development, whereas several other attributes showed limited variation across stages. Dimension-specific indices identified developmental stages representing the boundaries of the natural range of variation, while multivariate analyses identified groups of stages sharing similar ecological characteristics. These results demonstrate that no single developmental stage adequately represents the full natural range of variation and that the most appropriate reference condition depends on the ecological dimension and management objective being considered. Conclusions: Multiple forest developmental stages provide a more comprehensive representation of reference conditions than a single old-growth forest. By integrating multiple ecological dimensions, our framework captures the natural variability generated by forest development and offers ecological baselines for forest management, conservation, and ecological restoration. Beyond Nothofagus pumilio forests, this multidimensional approach provides a flexible basis for defining reference conditions across ecosystems with contrasting disturbance histories and may contribute to adaptive forest management under future environmental change.
EEA Santa Cruz
Fil: Chaves, Jimena Elizabeth. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC). Laboratorio de Recursos Agroforestales; Argentina
Fil: Rodríguez‑Souilla, Julián. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC). Laboratorio de Recursos Agroforestales; Argentina.
Fil: Cellini, Juan Manuel. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Laboratorio de Investigaciones en Maderas; Argentina.
Fil: Lencinas, María Vanessa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC). Laboratorio de Recursos Agroforestales; Argentina.
Fil: Peri, Pablo Luis. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Santa Cruz; Argentina.
Fil: Peri, Pablo Luis. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia Austral (UNPA); Argentina
Fil: Peri, Pablo Luis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina.
Fil: Martínez Pastur, Guillermo José. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC). Laboratorio de Recursos Agroforestales; Argentina.
Fuente
Ecological Processes 15 : article number 77. (August 2026)
Materia
Bosque Primario
Ordenación Forestal
Bosque Templado
Tierra del Fuego
Primary Forests
Nothofagus pumilio
Forest Management
Temperate Forests
Restauración Forestal
Región Patagónica
Forest Restoration
Nivel de accesibilidad
acceso abierto
Condiciones de uso
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
Repositorio
INTA Digital (INTA)
Institución
Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria
OAI Identificador
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oai_identifier_str oai:localhost:20.500.12123/27302
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spelling Defining reference forests for management, restoration and conservation: a multidimensional evaluation of Nothofagus pumilio forestsChaves, Jimena ElizabethRodríguez‑Souilla, JuliánCellini, Juan ManuelLencinas, María VanessaPeri, Pablo LuisMartínez Pastur, Guillermo JoséBosque PrimarioOrdenación ForestalBosque TempladoTierra del FuegoPrimary ForestsNothofagus pumilioForest ManagementTemperate ForestsRestauración ForestalRegión PatagónicaForest RestorationBackground: Reference forests provide essential benchmarks for conservation, forest management, and ecological restoration. However, they are commonly represented by a single old-growth condition and primarily characterized by structural attributes, overlooking both the natural variability generated by forest development under natural disturbance regimes and other ecosystem dimensions relevant to these objectives. Characterizing the natural range of variation across forest developmental stages through multiple ecological dimensions can improve the definition and selection of reference conditions by capturing the diversity of ecosystem states that occur throughout forest development. We proposed a seven developmental stages model representing the natural dynamic cycle of Nothofagus pumilio forests in Tierra del Fuego (Argentina), encompassing both even- and uneven-aged stand structures generated by natural disturbance regimes. By integrating forest structure, soil, understory vegetation, and animal use, we aimed to identify multidimensionally reference forests within this natural range of variability for management, restoration and conservation objectives, using univariate, multivariate, and integrative index analyses. Results: Forest developmental stages differed consistently in structural attributes, while soil, understory vegetation, and animal use exhibited more gradual or dimension-specific responses. Live tree volume, coarse woody debris, dead tree density, and soil phosphorus emerged as useful indicators of forest development, whereas several other attributes showed limited variation across stages. Dimension-specific indices identified developmental stages representing the boundaries of the natural range of variation, while multivariate analyses identified groups of stages sharing similar ecological characteristics. These results demonstrate that no single developmental stage adequately represents the full natural range of variation and that the most appropriate reference condition depends on the ecological dimension and management objective being considered. Conclusions: Multiple forest developmental stages provide a more comprehensive representation of reference conditions than a single old-growth forest. By integrating multiple ecological dimensions, our framework captures the natural variability generated by forest development and offers ecological baselines for forest management, conservation, and ecological restoration. Beyond Nothofagus pumilio forests, this multidimensional approach provides a flexible basis for defining reference conditions across ecosystems with contrasting disturbance histories and may contribute to adaptive forest management under future environmental change.EEA Santa CruzFil: Chaves, Jimena Elizabeth. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC). Laboratorio de Recursos Agroforestales; ArgentinaFil: Rodríguez‑Souilla, Julián. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC). Laboratorio de Recursos Agroforestales; Argentina.Fil: Cellini, Juan Manuel. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Laboratorio de Investigaciones en Maderas; Argentina.Fil: Lencinas, María Vanessa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC). Laboratorio de Recursos Agroforestales; Argentina.Fil: Peri, Pablo Luis. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Santa Cruz; Argentina.Fil: Peri, Pablo Luis. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia Austral (UNPA); ArgentinaFil: Peri, Pablo Luis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina.Fil: Martínez Pastur, Guillermo José. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC). Laboratorio de Recursos Agroforestales; Argentina.Springer2026-08-05T14:23:46Z2026-08-05T14:23:46Z2026-08info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionhttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501info:ar-repo/semantics/articuloapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/27302https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13717-026-00740-22192-1709https://doi.org/10.1186/s13717-026-00740-2Ecological Processes 15 : article number 77. (August 2026)reponame:INTA Digital (INTA)instname:Instituto Nacional de Tecnología AgropecuariaengAntártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur, Territorio Nacional de la Tierra del Fuego .......... (province) (World, South America, Argentina1002002info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccesshttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)2026-09-24T11:43:39Zoai:localhost:20.500.12123/27302instacron:INTAInstitucionalhttp://repositorio.inta.gob.ar/Organismo científico-tecnológicoNo correspondehttp://repositorio.inta.gob.ar/oai/requesttripaldi.nicolas@inta.gob.arArgentinaNo correspondeNo correspondeNo correspondeopendoar:l2026-09-24 11:43:40.303INTA Digital (INTA) - Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuariafalse
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Defining reference forests for management, restoration and conservation: a multidimensional evaluation of Nothofagus pumilio forests
title Defining reference forests for management, restoration and conservation: a multidimensional evaluation of Nothofagus pumilio forests
spellingShingle Defining reference forests for management, restoration and conservation: a multidimensional evaluation of Nothofagus pumilio forests
Chaves, Jimena Elizabeth
Bosque Primario
Ordenación Forestal
Bosque Templado
Tierra del Fuego
Primary Forests
Nothofagus pumilio
Forest Management
Temperate Forests
Restauración Forestal
Región Patagónica
Forest Restoration
title_short Defining reference forests for management, restoration and conservation: a multidimensional evaluation of Nothofagus pumilio forests
title_full Defining reference forests for management, restoration and conservation: a multidimensional evaluation of Nothofagus pumilio forests
title_fullStr Defining reference forests for management, restoration and conservation: a multidimensional evaluation of Nothofagus pumilio forests
title_full_unstemmed Defining reference forests for management, restoration and conservation: a multidimensional evaluation of Nothofagus pumilio forests
title_sort Defining reference forests for management, restoration and conservation: a multidimensional evaluation of Nothofagus pumilio forests
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Chaves, Jimena Elizabeth
Rodríguez‑Souilla, Julián
Cellini, Juan Manuel
Lencinas, María Vanessa
Peri, Pablo Luis
Martínez Pastur, Guillermo José
author Chaves, Jimena Elizabeth
author_facet Chaves, Jimena Elizabeth
Rodríguez‑Souilla, Julián
Cellini, Juan Manuel
Lencinas, María Vanessa
Peri, Pablo Luis
Martínez Pastur, Guillermo José
author_role author
author2 Rodríguez‑Souilla, Julián
Cellini, Juan Manuel
Lencinas, María Vanessa
Peri, Pablo Luis
Martínez Pastur, Guillermo José
author2_role author
author
author
author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Bosque Primario
Ordenación Forestal
Bosque Templado
Tierra del Fuego
Primary Forests
Nothofagus pumilio
Forest Management
Temperate Forests
Restauración Forestal
Región Patagónica
Forest Restoration
topic Bosque Primario
Ordenación Forestal
Bosque Templado
Tierra del Fuego
Primary Forests
Nothofagus pumilio
Forest Management
Temperate Forests
Restauración Forestal
Región Patagónica
Forest Restoration
dc.description.none.fl_txt_mv Background: Reference forests provide essential benchmarks for conservation, forest management, and ecological restoration. However, they are commonly represented by a single old-growth condition and primarily characterized by structural attributes, overlooking both the natural variability generated by forest development under natural disturbance regimes and other ecosystem dimensions relevant to these objectives. Characterizing the natural range of variation across forest developmental stages through multiple ecological dimensions can improve the definition and selection of reference conditions by capturing the diversity of ecosystem states that occur throughout forest development. We proposed a seven developmental stages model representing the natural dynamic cycle of Nothofagus pumilio forests in Tierra del Fuego (Argentina), encompassing both even- and uneven-aged stand structures generated by natural disturbance regimes. By integrating forest structure, soil, understory vegetation, and animal use, we aimed to identify multidimensionally reference forests within this natural range of variability for management, restoration and conservation objectives, using univariate, multivariate, and integrative index analyses. Results: Forest developmental stages differed consistently in structural attributes, while soil, understory vegetation, and animal use exhibited more gradual or dimension-specific responses. Live tree volume, coarse woody debris, dead tree density, and soil phosphorus emerged as useful indicators of forest development, whereas several other attributes showed limited variation across stages. Dimension-specific indices identified developmental stages representing the boundaries of the natural range of variation, while multivariate analyses identified groups of stages sharing similar ecological characteristics. These results demonstrate that no single developmental stage adequately represents the full natural range of variation and that the most appropriate reference condition depends on the ecological dimension and management objective being considered. Conclusions: Multiple forest developmental stages provide a more comprehensive representation of reference conditions than a single old-growth forest. By integrating multiple ecological dimensions, our framework captures the natural variability generated by forest development and offers ecological baselines for forest management, conservation, and ecological restoration. Beyond Nothofagus pumilio forests, this multidimensional approach provides a flexible basis for defining reference conditions across ecosystems with contrasting disturbance histories and may contribute to adaptive forest management under future environmental change.
EEA Santa Cruz
Fil: Chaves, Jimena Elizabeth. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC). Laboratorio de Recursos Agroforestales; Argentina
Fil: Rodríguez‑Souilla, Julián. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC). Laboratorio de Recursos Agroforestales; Argentina.
Fil: Cellini, Juan Manuel. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Laboratorio de Investigaciones en Maderas; Argentina.
Fil: Lencinas, María Vanessa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC). Laboratorio de Recursos Agroforestales; Argentina.
Fil: Peri, Pablo Luis. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Santa Cruz; Argentina.
Fil: Peri, Pablo Luis. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia Austral (UNPA); Argentina
Fil: Peri, Pablo Luis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina.
Fil: Martínez Pastur, Guillermo José. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC). Laboratorio de Recursos Agroforestales; Argentina.
description Background: Reference forests provide essential benchmarks for conservation, forest management, and ecological restoration. However, they are commonly represented by a single old-growth condition and primarily characterized by structural attributes, overlooking both the natural variability generated by forest development under natural disturbance regimes and other ecosystem dimensions relevant to these objectives. Characterizing the natural range of variation across forest developmental stages through multiple ecological dimensions can improve the definition and selection of reference conditions by capturing the diversity of ecosystem states that occur throughout forest development. We proposed a seven developmental stages model representing the natural dynamic cycle of Nothofagus pumilio forests in Tierra del Fuego (Argentina), encompassing both even- and uneven-aged stand structures generated by natural disturbance regimes. By integrating forest structure, soil, understory vegetation, and animal use, we aimed to identify multidimensionally reference forests within this natural range of variability for management, restoration and conservation objectives, using univariate, multivariate, and integrative index analyses. Results: Forest developmental stages differed consistently in structural attributes, while soil, understory vegetation, and animal use exhibited more gradual or dimension-specific responses. Live tree volume, coarse woody debris, dead tree density, and soil phosphorus emerged as useful indicators of forest development, whereas several other attributes showed limited variation across stages. Dimension-specific indices identified developmental stages representing the boundaries of the natural range of variation, while multivariate analyses identified groups of stages sharing similar ecological characteristics. These results demonstrate that no single developmental stage adequately represents the full natural range of variation and that the most appropriate reference condition depends on the ecological dimension and management objective being considered. Conclusions: Multiple forest developmental stages provide a more comprehensive representation of reference conditions than a single old-growth forest. By integrating multiple ecological dimensions, our framework captures the natural variability generated by forest development and offers ecological baselines for forest management, conservation, and ecological restoration. Beyond Nothofagus pumilio forests, this multidimensional approach provides a flexible basis for defining reference conditions across ecosystems with contrasting disturbance histories and may contribute to adaptive forest management under future environmental change.
publishDate 2026
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2026-08-05T14:23:46Z
2026-08-05T14:23:46Z
2026-08
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
info:ar-repo/semantics/articulo
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/27302
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13717-026-00740-2
2192-1709
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13717-026-00740-2
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/27302
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13717-026-00740-2
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13717-026-00740-2
identifier_str_mv 2192-1709
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv eng
language eng
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.coverage.none.fl_str_mv Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur, Territorio Nacional de la Tierra del Fuego .......... (province) (World, South America, Argentina
1002002
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Springer
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Springer
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv Ecological Processes 15 : article number 77. (August 2026)
reponame:INTA Digital (INTA)
instname:Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria
reponame_str INTA Digital (INTA)
collection INTA Digital (INTA)
instname_str Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria
repository.name.fl_str_mv INTA Digital (INTA) - Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria
repository.mail.fl_str_mv tripaldi.nicolas@inta.gob.ar
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