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Climate change is increasing the occurrence of natural disasters worldwide, and more frequent and intense fires represent one of the most destructive expressions of this trend. Chile is highly vulnerable to climate change, and fires are a recurrent phenomenon affecting many people each year. To reduce fire risk, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) suggests reducing both exposure and vulnerability through multiple initiatives, which demand increased community engagement. In such a context, this study explores local perceptions of fire in a sample of inhabitants in a wildland-urban interface (WUI) in Valparaiso, a city that is affected by numerous fires each year. The ultimate goal was to identify psychological and community factors that should be taken into consideration to develop prevention plans and safer environments for people living in a context of poverty and social inequity. Using a qualitative approach, 28 interviews were conducted and analyzed following grounded theory principles. Results identified multiple causes, impacts, and characteristics of the problem perceived by people who permanently cohabit with fire risk, showing that for many of them, fire risk is not about the probability of occurrence of a disaster, but a question about when and how the next fire will happen. However, in such a complex scenario, psychological, community, and structural barriers deter people from implementing more effective actions. Conversely, in emergency situations, such barriers are irrelevant and cooperative actions prevail, suggesting the existence of resources and capacities within the community that could lessen exposure and vulnerability if activated on a day-to-day basis. Overall, reducing fire risk cannot be achieved by local communities alone nor without their support. To build, maintain, and consolidate fire prevention actions, it is critical to activate community strengths and cooperation and engage the resources and management capacity of local governments.
Rodolfo Sapiains; Ana María Ugarte; Paulina Aldunce; Germant Marchant; Javier Alberto Romero; Mauro E. González; Valentina Inostroza-Lazo. Local Perceptions of Fires Risk and Policy Implications in the Hills of Valparaíso, Chile. Sustainability 2020, 12, 4298 .
AMA StyleRodolfo Sapiains, Ana María Ugarte, Paulina Aldunce, Germant Marchant, Javier Alberto Romero, Mauro E. González, Valentina Inostroza-Lazo. Local Perceptions of Fires Risk and Policy Implications in the Hills of Valparaíso, Chile. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (10):4298.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRodolfo Sapiains; Ana María Ugarte; Paulina Aldunce; Germant Marchant; Javier Alberto Romero; Mauro E. González; Valentina Inostroza-Lazo. 2020. "Local Perceptions of Fires Risk and Policy Implications in the Hills of Valparaíso, Chile." Sustainability 12, no. 10: 4298.
Deforestation is widely studied throughout the world. However, a less evident issue is the effect of climate change and drought on remnants of native forests. The objective of this work was to understand the geographic variations in resistance to drought of the Mediterranean sclerophyllous forests of central Chile. These forests have been historically reduced and fragmented and in recent years were subjected to the most prolonged drought occurred between 2010 and 2017. Using data from the MODIS satellite sensor, temporal trends in the NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) were quantified. We related these trends with different environmental variables to understand the effects of geographical variation and forest type as indicators of resistance to drought. We observed a significant direct effect of drought, attributable to the reduced precipitation in central Chile, and a significantly reduced NDVI in near one-third of the region forests (browning). However, NDVI and therefore forest productivity were more stable in some mesic sites such as ravine bottoms, but not on south-facing slopes. This suggests that under a regime of reduced precipitations, a greater available soil humidity would be a more important factor than the fact of receiving less solar radiation. Finally, the highest degree of browning was observed in semi-arid sclerophyllous forest dominated by species tolerant to drought. Our findings emphasize the need to consider topographic site conditions to adequately assess forest productivity and vulnerability where local wet conditions could provide drought refuges. This recent drought may be analogous to forecasted warmer and drier climate conditions with more frequent and severe droughts, so our results may serve as a general framework for climate-smart decisions in highly threatened forest restoration and conservation.
Alejandro Miranda; Antonio Lara; Adison Altamirano; Carlos Di Bella; Mauro E. González; Jesus Julio Camarero. Forest browning trends in response to drought in a highly threatened mediterranean landscape of South America. Ecological Indicators 2020, 115, 106401 .
AMA StyleAlejandro Miranda, Antonio Lara, Adison Altamirano, Carlos Di Bella, Mauro E. González, Jesus Julio Camarero. Forest browning trends in response to drought in a highly threatened mediterranean landscape of South America. Ecological Indicators. 2020; 115 ():106401.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAlejandro Miranda; Antonio Lara; Adison Altamirano; Carlos Di Bella; Mauro E. González; Jesus Julio Camarero. 2020. "Forest browning trends in response to drought in a highly threatened mediterranean landscape of South America." Ecological Indicators 115, no. : 106401.
The Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) is the spatial manifestation of the coupling of human communities and ecosystems, and wildfire is the most prominent issue. The WUI accounts for large percentages of fire prevention and suppression expenditures because it is where most human fatalities and structure losses occur. Therefore a fire-risk based definition of the spatial delimitation of the WUI may be critical to properly distributing prevention action and management investments to obtain the maximum social return. We present the first methodological approach that can be used to delineate the WUI based on a fire risk assessment. To accomplish this, we developed a geographical framework to model fire risk with the most prominent drivers and their interactions to define spatial explicit thresholds of the WUI. We built a Bagged Decision Tree (BDT) model to quantify fire risk based on Human Activity, Geographic and Topographic, and Land Cover variable interaction with fire ignition. For national and subnational threshold definition, we used Partial Dependence Plots (PDP) to analyze relationships between individual variables and predicted responses. A PDP can show the inflection point where a management action could potentially attain the best social return for decreasing fire risk. We find that the spatial threshold can vary more than double between subnational areas using the local fire risk-based approach. Subnational threshold definition accounts for 52% of fires in 3.4% of the national territory where lives 63% of the human population versus the conventional threshold or even nationally defined threshold that accounts for 36% and 54.4% of fires but in 3.3% and 4.3% of the land respectively. This multi-scale approach can be used to identify both general thresholds for large-scale applications as well as local thresholds for defining the WUI both operationally and empirically to determine optimal management areas.
Alejandro Miranda; Jaime Carrasco; Mauro González; Cristobal Pais; Antonio Lara; Andrés Weintraub; Adison Altamirano; Alexandra Syphard. Multiscale local definition of the wildland-urban interface to mitigate fire risk: an evidence-based approach. 2020, 1 .
AMA StyleAlejandro Miranda, Jaime Carrasco, Mauro González, Cristobal Pais, Antonio Lara, Andrés Weintraub, Adison Altamirano, Alexandra Syphard. Multiscale local definition of the wildland-urban interface to mitigate fire risk: an evidence-based approach. . 2020; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAlejandro Miranda; Jaime Carrasco; Mauro González; Cristobal Pais; Antonio Lara; Andrés Weintraub; Adison Altamirano; Alexandra Syphard. 2020. "Multiscale local definition of the wildland-urban interface to mitigate fire risk: an evidence-based approach." , no. : 1.
Wildfires have important ecological and socio-economic implications worldwide. Identifying the major ecological drivers regulating fire activity across space and time is critical to formulating sustainable policies of landscape planning and management under global change scenarios. However, large scale studies quantifying the relative importance of relevant fire drivers across different time periods are largely lacking. We conducted a high-resolution spatial survey in Central Chile and used structural equation models (SEMs) to evaluate the direct and indirect effects of climate, human impact, land uses, and topography on the number of fires and burned area across two distinct periods of time (2000–2005 and 2011–2016). Mean temperature and agricultural use had the highest direct positive effect on the number of fires and burned area in the two studied periods, and thus were the major ecological predictors of fire activity. Human impact was also an important predictor of fire attributes. Topography had multiple indirect effects on fire activity by regulating land use, temperature, and human impact, but direct effects were negligible. Precipitation seasonality, drought and aridity indexes, native forests, and plantations, were less relevant predictors of fire activity. Even so, our SEMs suggested that areas dominated by native forests tended to have lower number of fires than those covered by croplands or plantations. Our results suggest that fire activity in Central Chile will be highly sensitive to increases in human pressure, land use change and warming by climate change. Because the relative importance of the predictors of fire activity was steady over time, the knowledge derived from this study provides critical insights for preventive fire management and landscape planning. The control of stubble burning, native forest restoration and sustainable forestry management could improve social adaptation to a fire-prone future.
Susana Gómez-González; Mauro E. González; Susana Paula; Ignacio Díaz-Hormazábal; Antonio Lara; Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo. Temperature and agriculture are largely associated with fire activity in Central Chile across different temporal periods. Forest Ecology and Management 2018, 433, 535 -543.
AMA StyleSusana Gómez-González, Mauro E. González, Susana Paula, Ignacio Díaz-Hormazábal, Antonio Lara, Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo. Temperature and agriculture are largely associated with fire activity in Central Chile across different temporal periods. Forest Ecology and Management. 2018; 433 ():535-543.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSusana Gómez-González; Mauro E. González; Susana Paula; Ignacio Díaz-Hormazábal; Antonio Lara; Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo. 2018. "Temperature and agriculture are largely associated with fire activity in Central Chile across different temporal periods." Forest Ecology and Management 433, no. : 535-543.
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David B. McWethy; Aníbal Pauchard; Rafael A. García; Andrés Holz; Mauro E. González; Thomas T. Veblen; Julian Stahl; Bryce Currey. Correction: Landscape drivers of recent fire activity (2001-2017) in south-central Chile. PLOS ONE 2018, 13, e0205287 .
AMA StyleDavid B. McWethy, Aníbal Pauchard, Rafael A. García, Andrés Holz, Mauro E. González, Thomas T. Veblen, Julian Stahl, Bryce Currey. Correction: Landscape drivers of recent fire activity (2001-2017) in south-central Chile. PLOS ONE. 2018; 13 (10):e0205287.
Chicago/Turabian StyleDavid B. McWethy; Aníbal Pauchard; Rafael A. García; Andrés Holz; Mauro E. González; Thomas T. Veblen; Julian Stahl; Bryce Currey. 2018. "Correction: Landscape drivers of recent fire activity (2001-2017) in south-central Chile." PLOS ONE 13, no. 10: e0205287.
Aim The aim of the study was to investigate postfire regeneration patterns of Araucaria‐Nothofagus forests on the west slope of the Andes; to evaluate the relationship between remotely sensed burn severity and forest mortality; and to assess controls of burn severity on forest response at local spatio‐temporal scales. Location Araucanía region in the western Andean Range of south‐central Chile where fire occurred during the 2001–2002 season. Methods Sampling of prefire stand structure and postfire vegetation response was performed along a burn severity gradient a decade after the fire. We evaluated the relationship between field‐measured tree mortality and satellite‐derived burn severity using a generalized linear model. We fit zero‐inflated mixture models to regeneration data of each genus to assess the importance of abiotic variables, stand characteristics, and biotic interactions. Results The relative version of the delta Normalized Burn Ratio explained 85% of the variability in canopy mortality. Nearly 12,000 hectares burned; the majority at high severity (67%). Regeneration densities of both genera were lower at higher levels of burn severity and higher with greater total basal area (live, dead, and down trees). The relative effect size of burn severity on regeneration was nearly twice as large for Nothofagus, which suggests information legacies of Araucaria have cascading effects on postdisturbance material legacies. Main conclusions Araucaria‐Nothofagus mortality from wildfire can be readily mapped using satellite‐derived burn severity. Although environmental site characteristics and biotic interactions mediate regeneration, basal area, and burn severity are the main mechanisms controlling regeneration. Forest refugia and postfire regeneration are vulnerable to recurrent fire. Therefore, we expect future fire (either increased severity or frequency), driven by landscape level changes, as a potential mechanism that can reduce local resilience of these forests as initial postfire material legacies (e.g., refugia and regeneration) are removed from the landscape. Our findings highlight an approach to quantify important attributes of forest disturbance and refugia, and identify areas for monitoring postdisturbance regeneration as the forests throughout south‐central Chile and Argentina face a multitude of potential change agents.
Timothy J. Assal; Mauro E. González; Jason S. Sibold. Burn severity controls on postfire Araucaria-Nothofagus regeneration in the Andean Cordillera. Journal of Biogeography 2018, 45, 2483 -2494.
AMA StyleTimothy J. Assal, Mauro E. González, Jason S. Sibold. Burn severity controls on postfire Araucaria-Nothofagus regeneration in the Andean Cordillera. Journal of Biogeography. 2018; 45 (11):2483-2494.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTimothy J. Assal; Mauro E. González; Jason S. Sibold. 2018. "Burn severity controls on postfire Araucaria-Nothofagus regeneration in the Andean Cordillera." Journal of Biogeography 45, no. 11: 2483-2494.
In recent decades large fires have affected communities throughout central and southern Chile with great social and ecological consequences. Despite this high fire activity, the controls and drivers and the spatiotemporal pattern of fires are not well understood. To identify the large-scale trends and drivers of recent fire activity across six regions in south-central Chile (~32–40° S Latitude) we evaluated MODIS satellite-derived fire detections and compared this data with Chilean Forest Service records for the period 2001–2017. MODIS burned area estimates provide a spatially and temporally comprehensive record of fire activity across an important bioclimatic transition zone between dry Mediterranean shrublands/sclerophyllous forests and wetter deciduous-broadleaf evergreen forests. Results suggest fire activity was highly variable in any given year, with no statistically significant trend in the number of fires or mean annual area burned. Evaluation of the variables associated with spatiotemporal patterns of fire for the 2001–2017 period indicate vegetation type, biophysical conditions (e.g., elevation, slope), mean annual and seasonal climatic conditions (e.g., precipitation) and mean population density have the greatest influence on the probability of fire occurrence and burned area for any given year. Both the number of fires and annual area burned were greatest in warmer, biomass-rich lowland Bío-Bío and Araucanía regions. Resource selection analyses indicate fire ‘preferentially’ occurs in exotic plantation forests, mixed native-exotic forests, native sclerophyll forests, pasture lands and matorral, vegetation types that all provide abundant, flammable and connected biomass for burning. Structurally and compositionally homogenous exotic plantation forests may promote fire spread greater than native deciduous-Nothofagaceae forests which were once widespread in the southern parts of the study area. In the future, the coincidence of warmer and drier conditions in landscapes dominated by flammable and fuel-rich forest plantations and mixed native-exotic and sclerophyll forests are likely to further promote large fires in south-central Chile.
David B. McWethy; Anibal Pauchard; Rafael A. García; Andrés Holz; Mauro Gonzalez; Thomas T. Veblen; Julian Stahl; Bryce Currey. Landscape drivers of recent fire activity (2001-2017) in south-central Chile. PLoS ONE 2018, 13, e0201195 .
AMA StyleDavid B. McWethy, Anibal Pauchard, Rafael A. García, Andrés Holz, Mauro Gonzalez, Thomas T. Veblen, Julian Stahl, Bryce Currey. Landscape drivers of recent fire activity (2001-2017) in south-central Chile. PLoS ONE. 2018; 13 (8):e0201195.
Chicago/Turabian StyleDavid B. McWethy; Anibal Pauchard; Rafael A. García; Andrés Holz; Mauro Gonzalez; Thomas T. Veblen; Julian Stahl; Bryce Currey. 2018. "Landscape drivers of recent fire activity (2001-2017) in south-central Chile." PLoS ONE 13, no. 8: e0201195.
Forest fire activity has increased in recent years in central and south‐central Chile. Drought conditions have been associated with the increase of large wildfires, area burned and longer fire seasons. This study examines the influence of drought on fire regimes and discusses landscape management opportunities to decrease fire hazard. Specifically, we investigate the effect of the 2010–2015 Megadrought (MD) compared to 1990–2009 period on fire activity (fire‐season length, number of fires and burned area across months, fire sizes, regions and vegetation cover types, simultaneity, and duration of fires) in central and south‐central Chile (32°–39° S), using contemporary fire statistics derived from the Chilean Forest Service. For large fire events (>200 ha) the average season length increased by 67 d (44%), comparing 2010–2015 to 1990–2009. Earlier and later ignition dates resulted in extended fire seasons in MD years. During the MD, the number, area burned, simultaneity, and duration of large fires increased significantly compared to the control period, including the unprecedented occurrence of large fires during winter. The burned area in large fires increased in all vegetation types, during the MD compared to the control period, especially in the exotic plantation cover type. The regions that were most affected by fire (i.e., total area burned) during the MD were Maule, Bío‐Bío, and Araucanía (35–39° S) that concentrate >75% of forest plantations in Chile. Although both maximum temperatures and precipitation are drivers of fire activity, a simple attribution analysis indicates that the sustained rainfall deficit during 2010–2015 was the most critical factor in the enhanced fire activity. Future climate change predictions indicate more recurrent, intense, and temporally extended droughts for central and south‐central Chile. Under this scenario, land‐use planning and fire and forest management strategies must promote a more diverse and less flammable landscape mosaic limiting high load, homogenous, and continuous exotic plantations.
Mauro Gonzalez; Susana Gómez-González; Antonio Lara; Rene Garreaud; Ignacio Díaz-Hormazábal. The 2010-2015 Megadrought and its influence on the fire regime in central and south-central Chile. Ecosphere 2018, 9, e02300 .
AMA StyleMauro Gonzalez, Susana Gómez-González, Antonio Lara, Rene Garreaud, Ignacio Díaz-Hormazábal. The 2010-2015 Megadrought and its influence on the fire regime in central and south-central Chile. Ecosphere. 2018; 9 (8):e02300.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMauro Gonzalez; Susana Gómez-González; Antonio Lara; Rene Garreaud; Ignacio Díaz-Hormazábal. 2018. "The 2010-2015 Megadrought and its influence on the fire regime in central and south-central Chile." Ecosphere 9, no. 8: e02300.
The long-term history of fire regimes in the Mediterranean Andes of Chile is almost unknown. Subalpine woodlands of Austrocedrus chilensis include long-lived trees resilient to low-intensity fires, which can provide valuable tree-ring-based information about fire history. In this work, we performed an annually resolved multicentury reconstruction of past fires from fire-scar records identified in relict Austrocedrus wood found on steep highly-eroded and rocky slopes with coarser fuel structure in the upper Cachapoal Valley, central Andes of Chile. We compared this fire record with historical land-use changes and extensive reconstructions of regional precipitation and temperature, as well as large-scale climatic patterns. The highest fire frequencies were recorded in the Spanish settlement period (1541–1750), when land-clearing activities, cattle ranching, agriculture, and mining practices became widespread after the Spanish conquest. At an interannual time scale, fire occurrence and precipitation were unconnected during the Spanish settlement. By contrast, in the indigenous period (1200–1540), under the influence of the aboriginal Chiquillanes people, fires occurred in wet years with high vegetation productivity. In the livestock grazing period (1751–1950), when large cattle ranches were established, fires occurred in dry years after a wet year. Fires in this period were likely ignited under conditions of high fuel flammability to improve plant production and promote intensive livestock grazing. At a multidecadal time scale, fires were more frequent in cold periods throughout the whole record. These findings suggest that herbaceous fuel accumulation and flammability, modulated by climate variation and human land uses, were the main factors promoting fires spread in this Mediterranean subalpine area. Our research emphasizes the importance of relict Austrocedrus wood for fire history reconstruction and expands knowledge about fire regime shifts over the past eight centuries in southern South America.
Vicente Rozas; Carlos Le Quesne; Moisés Rojas-Badilla; Mauro E. González; Álvaro González-Reyes. Coupled human-climate signals on the fire history of upper Cachapoal Valley, Mediterranean Andes of Chile, since 1201 CE. Global and Planetary Change 2018, 167, 137 -147.
AMA StyleVicente Rozas, Carlos Le Quesne, Moisés Rojas-Badilla, Mauro E. González, Álvaro González-Reyes. Coupled human-climate signals on the fire history of upper Cachapoal Valley, Mediterranean Andes of Chile, since 1201 CE. Global and Planetary Change. 2018; 167 ():137-147.
Chicago/Turabian StyleVicente Rozas; Carlos Le Quesne; Moisés Rojas-Badilla; Mauro E. González; Álvaro González-Reyes. 2018. "Coupled human-climate signals on the fire history of upper Cachapoal Valley, Mediterranean Andes of Chile, since 1201 CE." Global and Planetary Change 167, no. : 137-147.
Streamflow in south-central Chile (SCC, ∼ 37–42∘ S) is vital for agriculture, forestry production, hydroelectricity, and human consumption. Recent drought episodes have generated hydrological deficits with damaging effects on these activities. This region is projected to undergo major reductions in water availability, concomitant with projected increases in water demand. However, the lack of long-term records hampers the development of accurate estimations of natural variability and trends. In order to provide more information on long-term streamflow variability and trends in SCC, here we report findings of an analysis of instrumental records and a tree-ring reconstruction of the summer streamflow of the Río Imperial (∼ 37∘ 40′ S–38∘ 50′ S). This is the first reconstruction in Chile targeted at this season. Results from the instrumental streamflow record (∼ 1940 onwards) indicated that the hydrological regime is fundamentally pluvial with a small snowmelt contribution during spring, and evidenced a decreasing trend, both for the summer and the full annual record. The reconstruction showed that streamflow below the average characterized the post-1980 period, with more frequent, but not more intense, drought episodes. We additionally found that the recent positive phase of the Southern Annular Mode has significantly influenced streamflow. These findings agree with previous studies, suggesting a robust regional signal and a shift to a new hydrological scenario. In this paper, we also discuss implications of these results for water managers and stakeholders; we provide rationale and examples that support the need for the incorporation of tree-ring reconstructions into water resources management.
Alfonso Fernández; Ariel Muñoz; Álvaro González-Reyes; Isabella Aguilera-Betti; Isadora Toledo; Paulina Puchi; David Sauchyn; Sebastián Crespo; Cristian Frene; Ignacio Mundo; Mauro Gonzalez; Raffaele Vignola. Dendrohydrology and water resources management in south-central Chile: lessons from the Río Imperial streamflow reconstruction. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 2018, 22, 2921 -2935.
AMA StyleAlfonso Fernández, Ariel Muñoz, Álvaro González-Reyes, Isabella Aguilera-Betti, Isadora Toledo, Paulina Puchi, David Sauchyn, Sebastián Crespo, Cristian Frene, Ignacio Mundo, Mauro Gonzalez, Raffaele Vignola. Dendrohydrology and water resources management in south-central Chile: lessons from the Río Imperial streamflow reconstruction. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences. 2018; 22 (5):2921-2935.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAlfonso Fernández; Ariel Muñoz; Álvaro González-Reyes; Isabella Aguilera-Betti; Isadora Toledo; Paulina Puchi; David Sauchyn; Sebastián Crespo; Cristian Frene; Ignacio Mundo; Mauro Gonzalez; Raffaele Vignola. 2018. "Dendrohydrology and water resources management in south-central Chile: lessons from the Río Imperial streamflow reconstruction." Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 22, no. 5: 2921-2935.
This paper evaluates the relationship between fire occurrence (number and burned area) and climate variability (precipitation and maximum temperatures) across central and south‐central Chile (32°–43° S) during recent decades (1976–2013). This region sustains the largest proportion of the Chilean population, contains ecologically important remnants of endemic ecosystems, the largest extension of forest exotic plantations, and concentrates most of the fire activity in the country. Fire activity in central Chile was mainly associated with above‐average precipitation during winter of the previous year and with dry conditions during spring to summer. The later association was particularly strong in the southern, wetter part of the study region. Maximum temperature had a positive significant relationship with burned area across the study region, with stronger correlations toward the south. Fires in central Chile were significantly related to El Niño–Southern Oscillation, through rainfall anomalies during the year previous to the fire season. The Antarctic Oscillation during winter through summer was positively related to fires across the study area due to drier/warmer conditions associated with the positive polarity of this oscillation. Climate change projections for the region reveal an all‐season decrease in precipitation and increases in temperature, that may likely result in an increment of the occurrence and the area affected by fires, as it has been observed during a multi‐year drought afflicting central Chile since 2010.
Rocío Urrutia‐Jalabert; Mauro Gonzalez; Álvaro González‐Reyes; Antonio Lara; Rene Garreaud. Climate variability and forest fires in central and south‐central Chile. Ecosphere 2018, 9, 1 .
AMA StyleRocío Urrutia‐Jalabert, Mauro Gonzalez, Álvaro González‐Reyes, Antonio Lara, Rene Garreaud. Climate variability and forest fires in central and south‐central Chile. Ecosphere. 2018; 9 (4):1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRocío Urrutia‐Jalabert; Mauro Gonzalez; Álvaro González‐Reyes; Antonio Lara; Rene Garreaud. 2018. "Climate variability and forest fires in central and south‐central Chile." Ecosphere 9, no. 4: 1.
El monitoreo de los bosques es fundamental para la toma de decisiones de manejo y conservación. En Chile, el sistema de monitoreo de bosques se inició en el año 1994, y se ha mantenido mediante la realización de actualizaciones regionales. Esto ha permitido hacer un seguimiento temporal de la superficie, distribución y características del bosque nativo. Sin embargo, mientras las actualizaciones regionales han reportado un continuo aumento del bosque nativo a nivel nacional, otras fuentes han mostrado una tendencia contraria. A raíz de esto, se evaluó la capacidad del sistema de monitoreo forestal para realizar un seguimiento temporal de la superficie de bosques. Específicamente se realizó una revisión de los informes y datos oficiales a través de tres criterios básicos que deben poseer los sistemas de monitoreo forestal: i) comparabilidad, ii) replicabilidad y iii) calidad. De acuerdo con los resultados obtenidos, el sistema de monitoreo de bosques chileno no cumple con estos requisitos mínimos ya que: i) las metodologías no son consistentes en el tiempo, ii) no proporciona una línea base de coberturas del suelo ni de deforestación que permita hacer comparaciones con las tasas de cambio futuras, iii) no existe una estimación adecuada de la incertidumbre de los resultados, ni como ésta puede afectar al monitoreo. El sistema de monitoreo nacional forestal requiere una redefinición de sus objetivos, alcances y métodos, de manera de ofrecer información clara de un recurso clave en la conservación de la biodiversidad y estrategias de mitigación y adaptación al cambio climático.
Alejandro Miranda; Antonio Lara; Adison Altamirano; Carlos Zamorano-Elgueta; H Jaime Hernández; Mauro E González; Aníbal Pauchard; Álvaro Promis. Monitoreo de la superficie de los bosques nativos de Chile: un desafío pendiente. Bosque (Valdivia) 2018, 39, 265 -275.
AMA StyleAlejandro Miranda, Antonio Lara, Adison Altamirano, Carlos Zamorano-Elgueta, H Jaime Hernández, Mauro E González, Aníbal Pauchard, Álvaro Promis. Monitoreo de la superficie de los bosques nativos de Chile: un desafío pendiente. Bosque (Valdivia). 2018; 39 (2):265-275.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAlejandro Miranda; Antonio Lara; Adison Altamirano; Carlos Zamorano-Elgueta; H Jaime Hernández; Mauro E González; Aníbal Pauchard; Álvaro Promis. 2018. "Monitoreo de la superficie de los bosques nativos de Chile: un desafío pendiente." Bosque (Valdivia) 39, no. 2: 265-275.
The Southern Annular Mode (SAM) is the main driver of climate variability at mid to high latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere, affecting wildfire activity, which in turn pollutes the air and contributes to human health problems and mortality, and potentially provides strong feedback to the climate system through emissions and land cover changes. Here we report the largest Southern Hemisphere network of annually resolved tree ring fire histories, consisting of 1,767 fire-scarred trees from 97 sites (from 22 °S to 54 °S) in southern South America (SAS), to quantify the coupling of SAM and regional wildfire variability using recently created multicentury proxy indices of SAM for the years 1531–2010 AD. We show that at interannual time scales, as well as at multidecadal time scales across 37–54 °S, latitudinal gradient elevated wildfire activity is synchronous with positive phases of the SAM over the years 1665–1995. Positive phases of the SAM are associated primarily with warm conditions in these biomass-rich forests, in which widespread fire activity depends on fuel desiccation. Climate modeling studies indicate that greenhouse gases will force SAM into its positive phase even if stratospheric ozone returns to normal levels, so that climate conditions conducive to widespread fire activity in SAS will continue throughout the 21st century.
Andrés Holz; Juan Paritsis; Ignacio A. Mundo; Thomas T. Veblen; Thomas Kitzberger; Grant J. Williamson; Ezequiel Aráoz; Carlos Bustos-Schindler; Mauro E. González; H. Ricardo Grau; Juan M. Quezada. Southern Annular Mode drives multicentury wildfire activity in southern South America. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2017, 114, 9552 -9557.
AMA StyleAndrés Holz, Juan Paritsis, Ignacio A. Mundo, Thomas T. Veblen, Thomas Kitzberger, Grant J. Williamson, Ezequiel Aráoz, Carlos Bustos-Schindler, Mauro E. González, H. Ricardo Grau, Juan M. Quezada. Southern Annular Mode drives multicentury wildfire activity in southern South America. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2017; 114 (36):9552-9557.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAndrés Holz; Juan Paritsis; Ignacio A. Mundo; Thomas T. Veblen; Thomas Kitzberger; Grant J. Williamson; Ezequiel Aráoz; Carlos Bustos-Schindler; Mauro E. González; H. Ricardo Grau; Juan M. Quezada. 2017. "Southern Annular Mode drives multicentury wildfire activity in southern South America." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 114, no. 36: 9552-9557.
The churches on Chiloé Island are the oldest wood structures in Chile. Chiloé islanders adapted European colonial techniques and developed unique regional construction styles when building these UNESCO-recognized community and religious centers. Although these historical treasures are preserved, much of the construction history of these churches remains unknown. Tree-ring dating is a proven archeological dating method used to identify the logging dates of wood used for constructiong historical buildings. The majority of churches on Chiloé were constructed using Pilgerodendron uviferum ("ciprés de las Guaitecas") wood. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the potential use of this species to date timber found at churches in Vilupulli and Ichuac. Timber sections from both structures were successfully cross-dated using three regional multi-century long P. uviferum tree-ring site chronologies located in the Chiloé region (two from the island and one from the nearby Andes region). Samples from pillars located in the tower of the Vilupulli church contained 311 and 181 tree-rings, respectively, while four samples from floor beams in the Ichuac church contained 79, 89, 97 and 135 annual growth. Timber used to build the Vilupulli church tower cross-dates to 1918 and corroborates colloquial knowledge that the structure was built in the early 20th century. Dates obtained from the floor beams in the Ichuac church range from 1920 to1929, and contradict the colloquial thinking that the structure was built at the end of the 19th century, though these could represent material used in a later restoration not previously recorded in Ichuac's local history. These findings confirm that P. uviferum presents strong capabilities for further use in tree ring dating of important historical structures located in the temperate region of Southern Chile.
Paulina Puchi; Ariel A Muñoz; Mauro E González; Ana Abarzúa; Katerine Araya; Ronald Towner; Reinhard Fitzek; Andrés Holz; Daniel Stahle. Potencial de los anillos de crecimiento de Pilgerodendron uviferum para el estudio histórico de las Iglesias de Chiloé, Patrimonio de la Humanidad. Bosque (Valdivia) 2017, 38, 109 -121.
AMA StylePaulina Puchi, Ariel A Muñoz, Mauro E González, Ana Abarzúa, Katerine Araya, Ronald Towner, Reinhard Fitzek, Andrés Holz, Daniel Stahle. Potencial de los anillos de crecimiento de Pilgerodendron uviferum para el estudio histórico de las Iglesias de Chiloé, Patrimonio de la Humanidad. Bosque (Valdivia). 2017; 38 (1):109-121.
Chicago/Turabian StylePaulina Puchi; Ariel A Muñoz; Mauro E González; Ana Abarzúa; Katerine Araya; Ronald Towner; Reinhard Fitzek; Andrés Holz; Daniel Stahle. 2017. "Potencial de los anillos de crecimiento de Pilgerodendron uviferum para el estudio histórico de las Iglesias de Chiloé, Patrimonio de la Humanidad." Bosque (Valdivia) 38, no. 1: 109-121.
Isabella Aguilera-Betti; Ariel A. Muñoz; Daniel Stahle; Gino Figueroa; Fernando Duarte; Álvaro González-Reyes; Duncan Christie; Antonio Lara; Mauro Gonzalez; Paul R. Sheppard; David Sauchyn; Andrés Moreira-Muñoz; Isadora Toledo-Guerrero; Matias Olea; Pablo Apaz; Alfonso Fernandez. The First Millennium-Age Araucaria Araucana in Patagonia. Tree-Ring Research 2017, 73, 53 -56.
AMA StyleIsabella Aguilera-Betti, Ariel A. Muñoz, Daniel Stahle, Gino Figueroa, Fernando Duarte, Álvaro González-Reyes, Duncan Christie, Antonio Lara, Mauro Gonzalez, Paul R. Sheppard, David Sauchyn, Andrés Moreira-Muñoz, Isadora Toledo-Guerrero, Matias Olea, Pablo Apaz, Alfonso Fernandez. The First Millennium-Age Araucaria Araucana in Patagonia. Tree-Ring Research. 2017; 73 (1):53-56.
Chicago/Turabian StyleIsabella Aguilera-Betti; Ariel A. Muñoz; Daniel Stahle; Gino Figueroa; Fernando Duarte; Álvaro González-Reyes; Duncan Christie; Antonio Lara; Mauro Gonzalez; Paul R. Sheppard; David Sauchyn; Andrés Moreira-Muñoz; Isadora Toledo-Guerrero; Matias Olea; Pablo Apaz; Alfonso Fernandez. 2017. "The First Millennium-Age Araucaria Araucana in Patagonia." Tree-Ring Research 73, no. 1: 53-56.
The understanding of the spatial and temporal patterns in land use and land cover (LULC) change is a key issue for conservation efforts. In the Chilean hotspot, different studies have attempted to understand variations of LULC change. Nevertheless, a broader understanding of common patterns and variability of LULC over the entire range of the hotspot is lacking. We performed a complete review of the different studies reporting LULC changes and performed a joint analysis of their results using an integrated comprehensive approach. We related the variation of LULC change to latitude, time period and vascular plant richness using generalized linear models. Overall, there were nine studies, which covered 36.5 % of the study area, and reported the loss of 19 % of native forest (782,120 ha) between 1973 and 2011. The highest net forest loss was observed in the 1970–1990 period. This decreased in the 1990–2000 period and rose again in the 2000–2010 period. This result reveals a continuous forest loss in the last 40 years. Conversion of native forest to shrublands is the most important contributor to net native forest loss, accounting for 45 % of the loss. However, in the area of greatest species richness native forests are mainly converted to exotic tree plantations. Chilean forestry model has proved successful in expanding exotic tree plantation, but so far it has not been compatible with native forest conservation and restoration. It is imperative to design a new forestry policy to assure the conservation of one of the most unique biodiversity hotspots worldwide.
Alejandro Miranda; Adison Altamirano; Luis Cayuela; Antonio Lara; Mauro Gonzalez. Native forest loss in the Chilean biodiversity hotspot: revealing the evidence. Regional Environmental Change 2016, 17, 285 -297.
AMA StyleAlejandro Miranda, Adison Altamirano, Luis Cayuela, Antonio Lara, Mauro Gonzalez. Native forest loss in the Chilean biodiversity hotspot: revealing the evidence. Regional Environmental Change. 2016; 17 (1):285-297.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAlejandro Miranda; Adison Altamirano; Luis Cayuela; Antonio Lara; Mauro Gonzalez. 2016. "Native forest loss in the Chilean biodiversity hotspot: revealing the evidence." Regional Environmental Change 17, no. 1: 285-297.
Ecological disturbances triggered by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are of fundamental importance in structuring the temperate forests of southwestern South America and New Zealand. We review studies of the ecological effects of these tectonic phenomena and how they have been central to progress in the modern development of forest ecology in both regions. Studies of tectonic influences on the dynamics of southern temperate rainforests of Chile and New Zealand published in the 1970s and early 1980s contributed prominently to the shift away from the equilibrium paradigms dominant globally in the 1960s and towards modern non-equilibrium frameworks of forest dynamics. Empirical studies of tectonic ecology in these temperate forests in combination with critical evaluations of earlier successional theory have significantly advanced understanding of the roles of coarse-scale disturbance in the dynamics of forests in southwestern South America and New Zealand. Recognition that cohort forest structures triggered by exogenous disturbances such as wind storms and tectonic events are the norm rather than all-aged structures has been of fundamental importance to understanding the dynamics of these forests. The non-equilibrium patch dynamics framework for interpreting forest structure and dynamics bolstered by tectonic ecology studies in southern South America and New Zealand was of key importance in refining older views of these forests as being out of equilibrium with contemporary climate, revising understanding of the effects of introduced browsing animals on forest structure, and guiding the development of appropriate forest management practices.
Tt Veblen; Mauro Gonzalez; Gh Stewart; Thomas Kitzberger; J Brunet. Tectonic ecology of the temperate forests of South America and New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Botany 2016, 54, 223 -246.
AMA StyleTt Veblen, Mauro Gonzalez, Gh Stewart, Thomas Kitzberger, J Brunet. Tectonic ecology of the temperate forests of South America and New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Botany. 2016; 54 (2):223-246.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTt Veblen; Mauro Gonzalez; Gh Stewart; Thomas Kitzberger; J Brunet. 2016. "Tectonic ecology of the temperate forests of South America and New Zealand." New Zealand Journal of Botany 54, no. 2: 223-246.
The 2011 eruption in the Puyehue-Cordón Caulle volcanic complex deposited up to 50 cm of tephra in a plume that intersected the crest of the Andes along Route 215, offering an excellent opportunity to study disturbance effects on native forests along a gradient of tephra depth. Our observations focused on short-term, species-level, tree mortality and sprouting and tephra fall effects on foliage and limb fall. More than 80 % of the thickest deposits were composed of a basal, pumice, gravel layer containing individual clasts up to 6 cm in length overlain by finer gravel and capped by several cm of sandy tephra. In a sample of four plots with tephra thickness ranging from 10 to 50 cm, we observed a wide range of tree mortality: about 8 % of stems living at the time of the eruption were killed by 10 cm of tephra fall and 54 % were killed by 50 cm. However, properties of the affected forest, such as species composition, foliage sprouting and retention (deciduous versus evergreen) characteristics, and tree size/age, strongly influenced survival. The sites with 35 and 50 cm thick deposits were dominated by the deciduous tree Nothofagus pumilio, which was leafless in the austral winter, season of the initial phase of the eruption. The evergreen tree N. dombeyi experienced much higher mortality. The low density of the falling pumice particles appeared to cause minimal abrasion of the canopy.
Frederick J Swanson; Julia Allen Jones; Charlie Crisafulli; Mauro Gonzalez; Antonio Lara. Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption of 2011: tephra fall and initial forest responses in the Chilean Andes. Bosque (Valdivia) 2016, 37, 85 -96.
AMA StyleFrederick J Swanson, Julia Allen Jones, Charlie Crisafulli, Mauro Gonzalez, Antonio Lara. Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption of 2011: tephra fall and initial forest responses in the Chilean Andes. Bosque (Valdivia). 2016; 37 (1):85-96.
Chicago/Turabian StyleFrederick J Swanson; Julia Allen Jones; Charlie Crisafulli; Mauro Gonzalez; Antonio Lara. 2016. "Puyehue-Cordón Caulle eruption of 2011: tephra fall and initial forest responses in the Chilean Andes." Bosque (Valdivia) 37, no. 1: 85-96.
Artículo de publicación ISIIn the last decades, forest fires have been a concern in different regions of the world, especially by increased occurrences product of human activities and climate changes. In this study the spatio-temporal trends in the occurrence and area affected by fire in the Maule region during the period 1986-2012 were examined. We use the Corporación Nacional Forestal fire database, whose records were spatially represented by a grid of 2x2 km. The occurrence was stable during the analyzed period with an average of 378 events per year. The burned area presented three periods above average with 5.273 hectares per year. Most of the fires affected surfaces of less than 5 hectares, while a very small number of events explain most of the area annually burned in the region. According to the startup fuel, we found an increasing number of events initiated in forest plantations in contrast to the decreasing number of fires originated in the native forests. Causes of fires associated with transit and transportation were the most important. The number of events accidentally caused by burning waste significantly increased in the period studied. Most of the fires occurred in the coastal area and the central valley, strongly associated with the road network and the most populated cities. This work represents an important contribution to the characterization of forest fires in the region of Maule, being the first to represent the fire statistics in Chile in a spatially explicit way.En las últimas décadas, los incendios forestales han sido una preocupación en distintas regiones del mundo, especialmente, por el incremento en su ocurrencia producto de actividades humanas y cambios en el clima. En este estudio se examinaron las tendencias espacio-temporales en la ocurrencia y superficie afectada por incendios en la región del Maule durante el período 1986-2012. Se utilizó la base de datos de incendios de la Corporación Nacional Forestal, cuyos registros fueron representados espacialmente mediante una grilla de 2x2 km. La ocurrencia se mantuvo estable durante el periodo analizado con un promedio de 378 eventos por año. La superficie quemada presentó tres periodos por sobre el promedio de 5.273 hectáreas al año. La mayor parte de los incendios afectó superficies < 5 ha, mientras que un número muy pequeño de eventos explicaron la mayor parte del área quemada anualmente en la región. Según el combustible de inicio, aumentaron aquellos eventos iniciados en plantaciones forestales y disminuyeron aquellos originados en bosque nativo. Las causas de incendios asociadas al tránsito y al transporte resultaron ser las más importantes. El número de eventos causados accidentalmente por quema de desechos aumentó significativamente en el periodo estudiado. La mayor parte de los incendios se localiza en la zona costera y en el llano central, fuertemente asociados a la red vial y a las ciudades más pobladas. Este trabajo es una contribución a la caracterización de los incendios forestales en la región del Maule, representando las estadísticas de incendios de forma espacialmente explícita
Ignacio Díaz-Hormazábal; Mauro E González. Análisis espacio-temporal de incendios forestales en la región del Maule, Chile. Bosque (Valdivia) 2016, 37, 147 -158.
AMA StyleIgnacio Díaz-Hormazábal, Mauro E González. Análisis espacio-temporal de incendios forestales en la región del Maule, Chile. Bosque (Valdivia). 2016; 37 (1):147-158.
Chicago/Turabian StyleIgnacio Díaz-Hormazábal; Mauro E González. 2016. "Análisis espacio-temporal de incendios forestales en la región del Maule, Chile." Bosque (Valdivia) 37, no. 1: 147-158.
Mauro E. González; Antonio Lara. Large fires in the Andean Araucaria forests: when a natural ecological process becomes a threat. Oryx 2015, 49, 394 -394.
AMA StyleMauro E. González, Antonio Lara. Large fires in the Andean Araucaria forests: when a natural ecological process becomes a threat. Oryx. 2015; 49 (3):394-394.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMauro E. González; Antonio Lara. 2015. "Large fires in the Andean Araucaria forests: when a natural ecological process becomes a threat." Oryx 49, no. 3: 394-394.