Effects of firewood harvesting intensity on biodiversity and ecosystem services in shrublands of northern Patagonia

Abstract

Forest biomass with energy purpose is gaining importance. Although there is a lot of information about afforestation for energy purpose, native resource management for biofuel production is a less studied topic. Consequently, generating information about management of local forest types that have potential for providing biomass for energy, such as resprouting shrublands, becomes a priority objective. We evaluated the effects of harvesting intensity on coppice growth in three resprouting shrublands with contrasting site conditions in northern Patagonia (Argentina). At each site, three harvesting treatments in strips of increasing width were randomly assigned to six permanent plots of 31.5 × 45 m during 2013–2014. Four years after, we measured resprouts (number and size of stems) of the five native dominant species. We found that almost all species responded to harvesting intensity by enhancing the coppice growth rates. Nonetheless, species showed different strategies for resource obtention. When analyzing at the community level, the response to harvesting intensity was consistent among the hillside sites, but conservative in the valley bottom site with the worst environmental conditions. Due to the high response of these species to harvesting intensity, we conclude that intense shrubland management for biomass commercialization could be a viable option depending on site conditions.