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Spatial prediction of caterpillar (Ormiscodes) defoliation in Patagonian Nothofagus forests

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Abstract

In the temperate forests of the southern Andes, southern beech species (Nothofagus), the dominant tree species of the region, experience severe defoliation caused by caterpillars of the Ormiscodes genus (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae). Despite the recent increase in defoliation frequency in some areas, there is no quantitative information on the spatial extent and dynamics of these outbreaks. This study examines the spatial patterns of O. amphimone outbreaks in relation to landscape heterogeneity. We mapped defoliation events caused by O. amphimone in northern (ca. 40–41°S) and southern Patagonian (ca. 49°S) Nothofagus forests from Landsat imagery and analyzed their spatial associations with vegetation cover type, topography (elevation, slope angle, aspect) and mean annual precipitation using overlay analyses. We used these data and relationships to develop a logistic regression model in order to generate maps of predicted susceptibility to defoliation by O. amphimone for each study area. Forests of N. pumilio are typically more susceptible to O. amphimone outbreaks than lower elevation forests of other Nothofagus species (N. dombeyi and N. antarctica). Stands located at intermediate elevations and on gentle slopes (<15°) are also more susceptible to defoliation than higher and lower elevation stands located on high angle slopes. Stands in areas with intermediate to high precipitation, relative to the distribution of Nothofagus along the precipitation gradient, are more susceptible to O. amphimone attack than are drier areas. Our study represents the first mapping and spatial analysis of insect defoliator outbreaks in Nothofagus forests in South America.

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Acknowledgments

We thank M. Mermoz from the National Park Service Administration for providing some of the Landsat images and other ancillary data. For useful advice while conducting the spatial analyses we thank S. Leyk. We are grateful to C. A. Wessman, T. A. Spies and an anonymous reviewer for useful suggestions and comments on earlier versions of this manuscript. This research was financially supported by the US National Science Foundation (Awards 0602164 and 096552) and a Beverly Sears Graduate Student Grant (Graduate School of the University of Colorado). The Argentinean National Park Service Administration granted permission to sample in the Nahuel Huapi and Los Glaciares National Parks. J. Paritsis was a Fulbright fellow while conducting part of this study.

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  1. Biogeography Laboratory, Department of Geography, UCB 260, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 80309-0260, USA

    Juan Paritsis, Thomas T. Veblen, Jeremy M. Smith & Andrés Holz

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  1. Juan Paritsis
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  2. Thomas T. Veblen
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  3. Jeremy M. Smith
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  4. Andrés Holz
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Correspondence to Juan Paritsis.

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Paritsis, J., Veblen, T.T., Smith, J.M. et al. Spatial prediction of caterpillar (Ormiscodes) defoliation in Patagonian Nothofagus forests. Landscape Ecol 26, 791–803 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-011-9608-0

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