Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer
ACI Avances en Ciencias e Ingenierías

SECTION B: LIFE SCIENCES

Vol. 5 No. 2 (2013)

Fire Effects on the structure, microclimate and ecosystem functions of eucalyptus plantations (Eucalyptus globulus; Myrtaceae) in the Metropolitan District of Quito, Ecuador

DOI
https://doi.org/10.18272/aci.v5i2.134
Submitted
September 29, 2015
Published
2013-12-09

Abstract

The replacement of remnant native vegetation with species of economic value is one of the most important impacts of the expansion of urban centers. An example of this phenomenon is the establishment of plantations of eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus), an Australian species that currently dominates large areas around cities in Spain, Portugal, and North and South America. Being a species which structure and behavior (e.g. rapid litter accumulation, bark shedding, volatile compounds) facilitates the spread of fire, eucalyptus plantations are prone to intense fires which impacts on native habitats have not been comprehensively evaluated. In this study, we analyzed the impacts of fire on the structure, microclimate and ecosystem functioning in three eucalyptus plantations and a native scrubland site in the Quito Metropolitan District (Ecuador). In each plantation, we located an intact plot, and an adjacent plot that had been burned in the summer of 2012. Our results show a clear impact of fire on average canopy cover, which was significantly lower in the burned plots, and a consistent response ofthe microclimate ofthese plantations, which experienced higher soil temperatures. Despite warmer temperatures, litter decomposition in the burned plots was significantly slower than in the intact plots and in the native scrubland, an effect that we attribute to the desiccation ofsoil and the resulting inhibitions of decomposers activity. We also report high rates of accumulation of litter and other flammable materials in eucalyptus stands, a factor that emphasizes the permanent fire risk that characterizes these plantations. Future protection and management initiatives should promote the progressive elimination of introduced eucalyptus plantations and the restoration of native vegetation that is less prone to fires.

viewed = 3377 times

References

  1. Terradas, J. 2001. "Ecología Urbana". Rubes, Barcelona, España.
  2. Cavelier, J.; Santos, C. 1999. "Efectos de plantaciones abandonadas de especies exóticas y nativas sobre la regeneración natural de un bosque montano en Colombia". Revista de Biología Tropical, 47.
  3. Cortés, S. 2003. "Estructura de la vegetación arbórea y arbustiva en el costado oriental de la serranía de Chía (Cundinamarca, Colombia)". Caldasia, 25: 119-137.
  4. Cisternas, M.; Martínez, P.; Oyarzun, C.; Debels, P 1999. "Caracterización del proceso de reemplazo de vegetación nativa por plantaciones forestales en una cuenca lacustre de la Cordillera de Nahuelbuta, VIII Región, Chile". Revista Chilena de Historia Natural, 72: 661-676.
  5. Jacobs, M. 1981. "Los eucaliptos como árboles en plantaciones". in El eucalipto en la repoblación forestal, (Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Agricultura y la Alimentación, Roma, Italia).
  6. Cuvi,N. 2005. "Dos cajones con semillas de eucalipto". in Terra Incógnita. Ecuador.
  7. ENCE. 2009. "La gestión forestal sostenible y el eucalipto". Grupo Empresarial ENCE S.A., España.
  8. Skolmen, R.; Ledig, T. 2000. "Eucalyptus globulus Labill. Eucalipto goma azul". Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Washington, DC: U.S.
  9. Davies, A.; van Rensburg, B.; Eggleton, P; Parr, C. 2013. "Interactive Effects of Fire, Rainfall, and Litter Quality on Decomposition in Savannas: Frequent Fire Leads to Contrasting Effects". Ecosystems: 1-15.
  10. Brennan, K.; Christie, F.; York, A. 2009. "Global climate change and litter decomposition: more frequent fire slows decomposition and increases the functional importance of invertebrates". Global Change Biology, 15: 2958-2972.
  11. Silveira, J.; Barlow, J.; Kruschea, A.; Orwina, K.; Balch, J.; Moutinhoa, P. 2009. "Effects of experimental fires on litter decomposition in a seasonally dry Amazonian forest". Journal of Tropical Ecology, 25: 657.
  12. Ambiente, M. 2011. "Memoria Técnica del Mapa de Cobertura Vegetal del Distrito Metropolitano (DMQ)". Ilustre Municipio de Quito.
  13. Ambiente, M. 2012. "Plan de Reforestación". Ilustre Municipio de Quito.
  14. Ibarra, B.; Parra, R.; Valencia, V; Páez, C. 2003. "Inventario de emisiones atmosféricas de Quito año 2003 y su distribución espacial y temporal". Corporación para el Mejoramiento del Aire de Quito (CORPAIRE).
  15. Ulloa-Ulloa, C.; Jorgensen, P. 1995. "Árboles y arbustos de los Andes del Ecuador". Abya Yala., Quito.
  16. "10 hectáreas del Parque Metropolitano se habrían quemado". 2012. Redacción Quito. El Comercio. 12 Sept 2012. Disponible en: http://www.elcomercio.com/quito/hectareas-Parque-Metropolitano-quemado_0_772722948.html.
  17. "Lumbisí vivió horas de miedo anoche ante un fuego sin control". 2012. El Comercio, 7 Sept 2012. Disponible en: http://www.elcomercio.com/quito/Lumbisi-miedo-anoche-fuego-control_0_769723021.html.
  18. "Los Bomberos combaten una verdadera ola de flagelos". 2012. La Hora, 17 Sept 2012. Disponible en: http://www.lahora.com.ec/index.php/noticias/show/1101394172.
  19. "El fuego se controló anoche; Zámbiza amanerció desolada y con ruegos a San Miguel". 2012. El Comercio - Redacciones Quito. 9 Sept 2012. Disponible en: http://www.elcomercio.com.ec/quito/zambiza-amanecio-desolada-San-Miguel-incendio-forestal-quito-nayon_0_771522877.html.
  20. Mitchell, K. 2007. "Quantitative Analysis by the Point-Centered Quarter Method". Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, New York.
  21. Mostacedo, B.; Fredericksen, T. 2000. "Manual de Métodos Básicos de Muestreo y Análisis en Ecología Vegetal". Santa Cruz, Bolivia.
  22. Brown, J. 2000. "Ecological Principles, Shifting Fire Regimes and Management Considerations". Rocky Mountain Research Station. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, United States.
  23. Gayoso-Aguilar, J.; Iroume-Arrau, A. 1995. "Impactos de manejo de plantaciones sobre el ambiente físico". Bosque, 16: 3-12.
  24. Chapin, F.; Matson, P.; Mooney, H. 2002. "Terrestrial Decomposition". in Principles of Terrestrial Ecosystem Ecology, (Springer, New York, USA).
  25. Coüteaux, M.;Bottner, P.;Berg,B. 1995. "Litter decomposition, climate and litter quality". Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 10: 63-66.
  26. Van Lill,W.; Kruger, F.; Van Wyk,D. 1980. "The effect of afforestation with Eucalyptus grandis Hill ex Maiden and Pinus patula Schlecht. et Cham. on streamflow from experimental catchments at Mokobulaan, Transvaal". Journal of Hydrology, 48: 107-118.
  27. Ceccon, E.; Martínez-Ramos, M. 1999. "Aspectos ambientales referentes al establecimiento de plantaciones de eucalipto de gran escala en áreas tropicales: aplicación al caso de México". Interciencia, 24: 352-359.
  28. Huber, A.; Iroume, A.; Mohr, C.; Frene, C. 2010. "Efecto de plantaciones de Pinus radiata y Eucalyptus globulus sobre el recurso agua en la Cordillera de la Costa de la región del Biobío, Chile". Bosque, 31: 219-230.
  29. Presland, A. 1982. "Litter production and decomposition from an overstorey ofEucalyptus spp. on two catchments in the New England region of N.S.W". Australian Journal of Ecology, 7: 171-180.
  30. Grafa, M.; Pozo, J.; Canhoto, C.; Elosegi, A. 2002. "Effect ofEucalyptus Plantations on Detritus Decomposers, and Detritivores in Streams". The Scientific World, 2: 1173-1185.
  31. Burrows, D.; Burrows, W. 1992. "Seed production and litter fall in some eucalypt communities in central Queensland". Australian Journal of Botany, 40: 389-403.
  32. Myers, R. 2000. "Fire in Tropical and Subtropical Ecosystems". in Wildland fire in ecosystems: effects of fire on flora, J. K. Brown, J. K. Smith, Eds. (Rocky Mountain Research Station, United States), 2: 258.

Most read articles by the same author(s)