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Eco-hydrological Functions in Forested Catchments of Southern Chile

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Abstract

Ecosystem functions in forests can vary significantly after disturbance, depending on changes in vegetation structure during succession and soil biophysical characteristics. We examined streamflow regulation, water storage and soil protection functions in small catchments covered by evergreen temperate rain forests, developed over volcanic ash soils, in southern South America. Our aims were to understand the differences in ecosystem functioning among catchments representing different forest stages following human disturbance, from scrubland to old-growth forest condition. In these catchments (n = 3 per condition), we assessed and compared eco-hydrological functions over 21 months. In old-growth (OG) forest catchments, streamflow for the entire study period averaged 2102 ± 110 mm, followed by secondary forest (SF) catchments with an average of 1770 ± 284 mm and finally scrub catchments (CH) with 1684 ± 267 mm. Evapotranspiration showed higher values in SF catchments (643 mm), followed by CH catchments (612 mm) and OG catchments (346 mm). OG and CH catchments had the lowest sediment export in streamflow, without statistical difference between them, while SF catchments had the highest sediment concentrations in all seasons of the year. Principal component analysis revealed that soil physical properties, vegetation structure and catchment morphometry were all relevant to explain the differences among the three forest successional stages compared. We validate the hypotheses that streamflow regulation and soil water storage capacity are greatly enhanced in old-growth forests, while the soil protection function is maximized in both early (bamboo-dominated) and advanced forest stages.

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Acknowledgements

CF was supported by Becas CONICYT de Doctorado Nacional and by the Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity (IEB-Chile). He acknowledges the advice and support of Achim Ellies Lab, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, and Sedimentology Lab, Faculty of Sciences, both from Universidad Austral de Chile. FDA was supported by FONDECYT 1170995. The field study was supported by grants ICM-MINECON, P05-002 and CONICYT PFB-0023 (Chile) to the Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Av. Bernardo O´Higgins 340, Santiago, Chile

    Cristián Frêne

  2. Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity, Santiago, Chile

    Cristián Frêne, Fernando D. Alfaro & Juan J. Armesto

  3. Instituto de Ingeniería Agraria y Suelos, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile

    José Dörner & Felipe Zúñiga

  4. Centro de Investigación en Suelos Volcánicos (CISVo), Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile

    José Dörner, Felipe Zúñiga & Jaime G. Cuevas

  5. Graduate School, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Universidad Austral de Chile, Campus Isla Teja, Valdivia, Chile

    Felipe Zúñiga

  6. Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Zonas Áridas (CEAZA), Av. Raúl Bitrán 1305, Campus Andrés Bello, Colina El Pino, La Serena, Chile

    Jaime G. Cuevas

  7. GEMA Center for Genomics, Ecology and Environment, Universidad Mayor, Camino La Pirámide 5750, Huechuraba, Santiago, Chile

    Fernando D. Alfaro

  8. Ecology Department, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Av. Bernardo O´Higgins 340, Santiago, Chile

    Juan J. Armesto

  9. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Oceanográficas, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile

    Juan J. Armesto

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  1. Cristián Frêne
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Correspondence to Cristián Frêne.

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Author's Contribution

CF conceived and designed study, performed research, analyzed data and wrote the paper. JD and FZ designed study, performed research, analyzed data, contributed new methods and wrote the paper. JGC analyzed data, contributed new methods and wrote the paper. FDA analyzed data and contributed new methods. JJA conceived study, contributed new models and wrote the paper.

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Frêne, C., Dörner, J., Zúñiga, F. et al. Eco-hydrological Functions in Forested Catchments of Southern Chile. Ecosystems 23, 307–323 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-019-00404-7

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