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December 2002 - present
Publications
Publications (103)
R������. Las parcelas forestales permanentes son áreas de muestreo donde se registran periódicamente la identidad, abundancia y tamaño de los árboles, para estudiar cómo cambian los bosques en relación con el clima, los disturbios naturales y los usos y manejos. Hasta hoy, los patrones de cambio observados con parcelas permanentes en la Argentina t...
In arid areas, biological activity responds to precipitation pulses, with different activation thresholds for different organisms. Biocrusts, communities of cyanobacteria, green algae, lichens and mosses living in the soil surface, contribute to soil fertilization by fixing atmospheric nitrogen (N), carbon (C), and solubilizing phosphorus (P). In t...
In drylands all over the world, chronic anthropic disturbances are relevant factors for woodland degradation. Different disturbances can potentially interact to change vegetation structure. Knowing woodland
structure is crucial for better predicting forest dynamic because trees of different sizes significantly affect the regeneration processes, num...
Los ecosistemas ofrecen servicios hídricos claves a la población, como la provisión de agua potable y la depuración de efluentes. Los estudios de servicios hídricos suelen realizarse a escala de cuenca, enfocados desde la oferta. Sin embargo, este enfoque ignora relaciones hídricas complejas entre las ciudades y el territorio causadas por la transf...
Las costras biológicas del suelo (CBS) son asociaciones entre cianobacterias, algas verdes, líquenes, musgos y partículas de suelo. Las costras cumplen múltiples funciones ecosistémicas tales como la fijación de nitrógeno atmosférico y la estabilización de suelos. El presente trabajo tiene como objetivo evaluar condiciones de propagación de distint...
Background
Fire is an important driver of ecosystem dynamics worldwide. However, knowledge on broad-scale patterns of ecosystem and organism responses to fires is still scarce. Through a systematic quantitative review of available studies across South America, we assessed fire effects on biodiversity and abundance of different organisms ( i.e., pla...
Conservation and sustainable management of woodlands in drylands is a priority at the global level considering the numerous benefits and ecosystem services they offer for local people. Sustainable use of forest resources requires the planning of forest conservation, restoration, and use on a global scale through National Forest Plans. It is imperat...
Background: In arid and semi-arid ecosystems in Argentina, dominance of shrublands and the search to increase the forage supply for livestock motivates interventions such as roller-chopping and hand-cutting to reduce the abundance of shrubs. However, an integral analysis of the effects of these practices from a sustainability point of view, includi...
Land use changes affecting ecological and hydrological processes often shape the biogeochemistry of deserts. As highly productive hotspots, Prosopis flexuosa woodlands located in interdune lowlands of the Monte Desert are subject to intense transformations by humans and livestock and offer a unique opportunity to understand how phreatophyte vegetat...
The accumulation of soluble salts in soils is one of the main environmental
factors that contribute to the productive capacity limitations of Argentina’s arid
ecosystems. Salinization processes lead to critical states of degradation and deser-
tification. The challenge to recover and improve the productivity of such degraded
areas is complex because...
El efecto del pastoreo por ganado en las comunidades vegetales es un tópico que ha sido estudiado en diversos ecosistemas del mundo. El bosque seco del Gran Chaco (comúnmente llamado bosque chaqueño) es el segundo bosque más importante de Sudamérica después del Amazonas y uno de los puntos críticos de conservación a escala continental, pero se encu...
The distribution pattern of perennial native grasses in the dune systems of the Monte desert might be determined by the ability of plant roots to acquire water under drought conditions in different topographical positions and soil substrates. This study examined differences in root traits of two species growing in sand dunes, Aristida mendocina and...
La REDFOR.ar es una iniciativa conjunta de las instituciones vinculadas a las Ciencias Forestales, que está conformada por docentes, investigadores e instituciones relacionados con la educación, la ciencia y la tecnología forestal. Con un Consejo Directivo integrado por las universidades nacionales en las que se dictan carreras forestales de posgra...
Livestock grazing can be a problem for forest conservation because it can generate heterogeneous and unpredictable changes in plant communities. Understanding these changes is important for generating management strategies that are compatible with long-term conservation of threatened forests. Livestock exclusion is a useful experimental approach us...
Los objetivos de conservación de los bosques se han vuelto prioritarios en el contexto de procesos globales de crisis de la biodiversidad, cambio del uso de suelo y de cambio climático. Estos objetivos, durante mucho tiempo se han contrapuesto con los objetivos de producción; sin embargo, durante las últimas décadas, se busca una planificación que...
The architecture of plants responds to endogenous processes and to the influence of environmental factors. The allometric study of architecture has been a challenge for biology. We define a new finite (Hausdorff) dimension of plants, that considers both the aerial part and the roots, and compute examples. This new finite dimension was introduced re...
Some desert plant species are capable of using underground water and are therefore independent of rainfall events. Species of the genus Prosopis are thought to be facul-tative phreatophytes, since they have deep and shallow roots that allow them explore water from underground layers and from sub-surface soil horizons. We created a seven-year series...
The current degradation of desert ecosystems determines the use of management practices such as reforestation with native woody species for their ecological restoration. In addition, pruning has been suggested to optimize productivity and improve potential use for local people. Our objective was to examine the annual response to pruning by individu...
Una proporción sustancial de los bosques en retroceso se ubican en zonas áridas. Los algarrobales de
la Provincia Biogeográ!ca del Monte se encuentran entre los bosques con mayores limitaciones ambientales
del país, lo que hace que la idea de un ordenamiento forestal sustentable sea difícil de lograr. En este trabajo
nos proponemos discutir los det...
La degradación de suelos por salinización afecta más de 900 millones de hectáreas de tierra productiva en el mundo. Esta problemática, sin planes de manejo de recursos, ni estrategias de restauración, conduce a estados críticos de desertificación. En el oasis cuyano, grandes superficies son excluidas del sistema productivo regional. La forestación...
En zonas áridas, el crecimiento leñoso anual es bajo (menos de la mitad que en otros bio-
mas), siendo necesaria la aplicación de técnicas de manejo que mejoren la productividad
o calidad de los productos obtenidos. Al norte del Monte, con periodos de crecimiento
más largos, se observan árboles de mayor tamaño y erectos. En el centro y sur, los al-...
La salinidad de los suelos de zonas áridas de la Argentina constituye un problema am-biental que conduce a estados críticos de degradación y desertificación, con consecuen-cias ambientales, económicas y sociales. En la Provincia Biogeográfica del Monte, la acumulación de sedimentos finos en zonas bajas, freática cercana y elevada evaporación determ...
Changes in the spatial distribution of resources constitute an indicator of degradation of arid grazing lands. In arid and semi-arid ecosystems, the distribution of soil resources has been commonly associated with the structure and the spatial arrangements of the vegetation. Although the formation of “fertile islands” beneath vegetation patches is...
One of the most important current challenges for ecologists is to evaluate how human-induced changes in ecosystems would impact viability of populations. Demographic response to anthropogenic impact could help us to understand how to manage those impacts. Using demographic techniques and population projection models, here we assess if demography an...
Los bosques nativos proveen importantes servicios ambientales, siendo la madera muerta (MM) de vital importancia para las comunidades locales como combustible y para la construcción de los puestos ganaderos. La MM tiene otras funciones ecológicas como la provisión de sitios de nidifica-ción para polinizadores. Este estudio evaluó el efecto de la di...
Pruning is a silvicultural practice that could potentially improve the productivity in arid land woodlans. However, there is not enough information about the influence of this practice on the tree-ring wood anatomy of desert Prosopis woodlands. We analyzed the effect of pruning trees of different diameter class (small and large, PDDC) and pruning i...
Los bosques de Prosopis flexuosa han permitido históricamente la subsistencia y desarrollo de los oasis productivos al pie de la Cordillera de Los Andes, mediante el uso de sus recursos forestales. La normativa actual determina que la utilización de estos recursos dependa del ordenamiento territorial de los bosques. Sin embargo, el conocimiento de...
In the woodlands of the Central Monte desert (Argentina), phreatophyte vegetation is exposed to different levels of disturbance. Livestock and settlement activity produce mainly nutrient inputs and partial vegetation removal, with a consequent reduction on water use by vegetation. We hypothesize that due to the increased soil water and nutrient res...
The Prosopis flexuosa woodlands have historically allowed the survival and development of productive oasis at the foot of the Andes mountains, through the use of their forest resources. Current regulations state that the use of these resources depends on the zoning of forests. However, knowledge of dryland forests is incomplete. Our aim were to det...
Se describe y explica el proceso de deforestación del área ocupada por
los bosques de algarrobo en el oeste de La Rioja y Catamarca, a partir
de mediados de siglo XIX hasta la actualidad. Este proceso estuvo
asociado al desmonte del bosque nativo y a los cambios de uso del
suelo originados por diferentes y sucesivos procesos socio–
económicos, que...
El objetivo de esta investigación fue reconstruir la
distribución del bosque nativo, hacia mediados de
siglo XIX, en algunos valles del norte argentino, con
el fin de generar una línea base del estado y situación
de los algarrobales y retamales (Prosopis flexuosa
y Bulnesia retama), justo antes del comienzo de la
explotación a gran escala impulsada...
The objectives of this study are to develop a conceptual hydrogeological model and evaluate groundwater hydrochemical characteristics of the aquifer in the Guanacache Travesía, in the central Monte desert of Mendoza (Argentina). The region has been granted to aboriginal communities for communal use and is experiencing economic development. The area...
In arid areas of Argentina, Prosopis flexuosa woodlands are of foremost importance since they are thought to protect the soil against erosion in a region with a high risk of desertification, and because they offer several resources to local inhabitants, such as firewood, forage for cattle, and food products derived from its fruit. These woodlands h...
En las zonas áridas de Argentina, los bosques de Prosopis flexuosa son de suma importancia porque protegen el suelo en áreas con riesgo elevado de desertificación, y porque ofrecen diversos recursos a los pobladores locales (e.g., leña, forraje y productos alimenticios derivados de sus frutos). La actividad antrópica ha tenido un fuerte impacto sob...
In arid ecosystems, evapotranspiration generally exceeds precipitation, preventing deep drainage and groundwater recharge. We propose that vegetation changes associated with the establishment of pastoralist settlements (i.e. livestock stations) can disrupt the ecological and hydrological linkages in arid groundwater-coupled ecosystems of the Monte...
In deserts, seedling emergence occurs only after precipitation threshold has been exceeded, however, the presence of trees modifies microenvironmental conditions that might affect the effectiveness of a water pulse. In the Monte desert, Prosopis flexuosa trees generate different micro-environmental conditions that might influence grass seedlings es...
In central-western Argentina, there is a pronounced water deficit gradient, from semiarid climate conditions with 500-mm rainfall/year to arid climate conditions with 80-mm rainfall/year. This climatic transition, governed by the rainfall gradient, occurs between the Arid Chaco and Monte phytogeographic regions and is evidenced by differences in ve...
Forestry use in Prosopis flexuosa woodlands in the Central Monte is limited by low wood productivity and by most of the trees being multi-stemmed. Desert inhabitants have turned pruning into a common practice to get some forest products, increase wood production and improve tree shape. In this study we tested pruning practices used by locals on tre...
Export Date: 2 July 2013, Source: Scopus, Article in Press
Los servicios ecosistémicos, y la percepción que las sociedades tienen de ellos, pueden determinar la distribución de las poblaciones y sus actividades, al mismo tiempo que éstas pueden alterar su provisión y modificar el uso del suelo. En las zonas áridas el agua es el principal determinante tanto de procesos ecológicos como actividades culturales...
La posibilidad de ocupación de las regiones áridas por las poblaciones humanas depende de la disponibilidad de agua para consumo propio y del ganado, y del aprovechamiento activo o pasivo del agua para la producción de alimentos y otros recursos. Por lo tanto, la utilización de las distintas fuentes de agua es determinante de la calidad de vida de...
Minimum water input event for seedling emergence of three native perennial grasses of the Central Monte desert (Argentina) influenced by the effect of shade and the season of the year Pulso mínimo de agua para la emergencia de plántulas de tres especies de gramíneas perennes nativas del Monte Central (Argentina), influenciado por el efecto de la so...
En este trabajo se realiza una revisión bibliográfica de la biología de Prosopis argentina, especie dominante de los médanos y dunas en las zonas áridas de Argentina, a partir de trabajos clásicos e investigaciones recientes. Se abordan afinidades filogenéticas de la especie, su distribución geográfica, el hábitat, el crecimiento y las comunidades...
In the Monte Biogeographic Province, located in the arid region of Argentina, the presence of Prosopis flexuosa DC. produces spatial heterogeneity through edaphic modifications and microclimate changes. This results in vegetation patches differing in species composition and abundance. However, this interaction can be modified by the occurrence of g...
In the Monte Biogeographic Province, located in the arid region of Argentina, the presence of Prosopis flexuosa DC. produces spatial heterogeneity through edaphic modifications and microclimate changes. This results in vegetation patches differing in species composition and abundance. However, this interaction can be
modified by the occurrence of g...
Se revisa la biología de Prosopis alpataco, especie dominante en los suelos arcillosos de zonas áridas, a partir de trabajos clásicos e investigaciones recientes. Se aborda la filogenia de la especie, su distribución geográfica, las condiciones ambientales en las que se desarrolla, las especies que lo acompañan, la morfología, fenología y producció...
In arid ecosystems, vegetation controls water and nitrate movement in the soil, reducing solute transport to aquifers. Here we analyzed nitrate distribution and transport throughout the soil profile and to the groundwater under different ecologic (vegetation type) and topographic (upland/lowland) situations across sand dune ecosystems with shallow...
Coarse woody debris (CWD) plays a key role in ecosystems, reducing erosion and affecting soil development, storing nutrients and water, providing a major source of energy and nutrients, serving as a seedbed for plants and as habitat for decomposers and heterotrophs. We asked whether removal of CWD affected the structure and functioning of an arid w...
Disturbance by domestic grazing is recognized as the most widespread stressor of biological soil crust (BSC) communities. To assess the recovery of the BSC after grazing exclusion, we estimated the composition, cover, and spatial distribution of biological soil crusts, and their influence on soil nitrogen in a protected area after 40 years of grazi...
Deadwood is an important resource commonly used by inhabitants in arid lands. However, the low wood productivity and the presence of multi-stemmed trees restrict the use. Prosopis flexuosa woodlands are protected and inhabited by pastoralists who have land rights to use natural resources. As in other forests in the world, dead branches are the most...
Prosopis flexuosa trees dominate woodlands in the Central Monte Desert (Mendoza, Argentina), with <200mm rainfall, exploiting the water table
recharged by Andean rivers, and also growing in dunes with no access to the water table. Prosopis woodlands were extensively logged during development of the agricultural oasis, and surface and groundwater ir...
RESUMEN. La diversidad y la productividad de las zonas áridas dependen de la interacción entre las limitaciones ambientales que presenta cada región en particular y el complejo de adaptaciones desarrolladas por los organismos que les permiten mantener el balance de agua y energía térmica dentro de límites viables. El Monte Central se encuentra en l...
The diversity and productivity of arid lands depend on the interaction between environmental limitations and the complex of adaptive features that allow organisms to maintain their water and energy balance. The Central Monte is located in the arid-semiarid zone from western Argentina, with mean annual rainfall that varies between 30 and 350 mm, con...
In arid regions throughout the world, shallow phreatic aquifers feed natural oases of much higher productivity than would be expected solely from local rainfall. In South America, the presence of well-developed Prosopis flexuosa woodlands in the Monte Desert region east of the Andes has puzzled scientists for decades. Today these woodlands provide...
A balance between forest production and protection is hard to achieve in arid zones due to their low potential for wood production. Prosopis flexuosa woodlands are the major woody formations in the Monte desert and are currently in a degraded state due to intense use. The main degradation factors in the study area are overgrazing and firewood extra...
s u m m a r y Besides precipitation inputs, evapotranspiration of irrigated and natural oases, i.e. riparian and phreato-phytic ecosystems, of rain-shadow deserts is strongly influenced by lateral water inputs supplied by mountain rivers and foothill-recharged aquifers. A better understanding of these supplies and their imprint on the water consump...