Abstract

SOTO, Daniel P  and  FIGUEROA, Heriberto. Effect of anthropogenic disturbances on the structure and composition of Pilgerodendron uviferum stands of the Chilean Coastal Range. Ecol. austral [online]. 2008, vol.18, n.1, pp.13-25. ISSN 1667-782X.

The influence of anthropogenic disturbances on the structure and composition of four communities of Pilgerodendron uviferum in the northernmost portion of the Chilean Coastal range was studied. For each site, three 400 m² plots per community were established to characterize the structure and to quantify the regeneration and vegetation cover. With this information, the Importance Value for the overstorey and the understorey species of each site was calculated. Correspondence Analysis was used for the ordination of sites based on the Importance Values. The ordination results were used for a Discriminant Analysis to classify the vegetation according to disturbance degree. The results showed that the regeneration of P. uviferum is associated with the most disturbed sites (those with loss of structure or more open). On the other hand, the undisturbed sites had poor regeneration and were associated to species less tolerant to high soil moisture. Our results suggest that in these northern stands, P. uviferum needs open sites with wet soils to regenerate and to persist in the ecosystem.

Keywords : Plant communities; Ordination; Water logging; Vegetation clasification.

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