Individual plant and population biomass of dominant shrubs in Patagonian grazed fields

Estimating aboveground biomass of vegetation is essential for population, community and ecosystem studies. In systems dominated or co-dominated by woody species, biomass estimation is difficult, and rapid and non-destructive methods are needed. In this study, we describe biomass distribution in diff...

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Autores principales: Oñatibia, G.R., Aguiar, M.R., Cipriotti, P.A., Troiano, F.
Formato: JOUR
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Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_03275477_v20_n3_p269_Onatibia
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spelling todo:paper_03275477_v20_n3_p269_Onatibia2023-10-03T15:24:49Z Individual plant and population biomass of dominant shrubs in Patagonian grazed fields Oñatibia, G.R. Aguiar, M.R. Cipriotti, P.A. Troiano, F. Adesmia volckmannii Allometric equations Mulinum spinosum Semi-arid ecosystems Senecio filaginoides Woody species aboveground biomass allometry coexistence demography dominance grazing growth modeling land use change leaf phytomass semiarid region shrub size structure steppe wood Patagonia Adesmia volckmannii Mulinum spinosum Senecio Senecio filaginoides Estimating aboveground biomass of vegetation is essential for population, community and ecosystem studies. In systems dominated or co-dominated by woody species, biomass estimation is difficult, and rapid and non-destructive methods are needed. In this study, we describe biomass distribution in different components (i.e., wood, leaves) and how this changes with shrub size for the three dominant species of shrubs in the Occidental District of the Patagonian steppe. We also describe the population size structure of the three species in grazed fields and estimate their contribution to total abundance and biomass through a non-destructive method. We developed allometric equations to estimate aboveground biomass components of individual shrubs from structural descriptors (i.e., diameter and height of the crown), sampling individual plants of different sizes. The variable that best predicted biomass of the three species was the sum of the height and the average diameter of the crown (calculated with the largest diameter and its perpendicular). Allometric models for each species explained more than 83% of the variability of individual aboveground biomass. At the individual level, species had different proportions of wood, leaves and specific wood weight. Increasing shrub size was accompanied by changes in the proportion of leaves to wood, and in some cases, the percentage of dead crown. At the population level, the three species differed in size distribution in moderately grazed fields. Development of allometric models from a population perspective is important to study demographic processes that drive community and ecosystem responses to environmental and land-use changes. JOUR info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ar http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_03275477_v20_n3_p269_Onatibia
institution Universidad de Buenos Aires
institution_str I-28
repository_str R-134
collection Biblioteca Digital - Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (UBA)
topic Adesmia volckmannii
Allometric equations
Mulinum spinosum
Semi-arid ecosystems
Senecio filaginoides
Woody species
aboveground biomass
allometry
coexistence
demography
dominance
grazing
growth modeling
land use change
leaf
phytomass
semiarid region
shrub
size structure
steppe
wood
Patagonia
Adesmia volckmannii
Mulinum spinosum
Senecio
Senecio filaginoides
spellingShingle Adesmia volckmannii
Allometric equations
Mulinum spinosum
Semi-arid ecosystems
Senecio filaginoides
Woody species
aboveground biomass
allometry
coexistence
demography
dominance
grazing
growth modeling
land use change
leaf
phytomass
semiarid region
shrub
size structure
steppe
wood
Patagonia
Adesmia volckmannii
Mulinum spinosum
Senecio
Senecio filaginoides
Oñatibia, G.R.
Aguiar, M.R.
Cipriotti, P.A.
Troiano, F.
Individual plant and population biomass of dominant shrubs in Patagonian grazed fields
topic_facet Adesmia volckmannii
Allometric equations
Mulinum spinosum
Semi-arid ecosystems
Senecio filaginoides
Woody species
aboveground biomass
allometry
coexistence
demography
dominance
grazing
growth modeling
land use change
leaf
phytomass
semiarid region
shrub
size structure
steppe
wood
Patagonia
Adesmia volckmannii
Mulinum spinosum
Senecio
Senecio filaginoides
description Estimating aboveground biomass of vegetation is essential for population, community and ecosystem studies. In systems dominated or co-dominated by woody species, biomass estimation is difficult, and rapid and non-destructive methods are needed. In this study, we describe biomass distribution in different components (i.e., wood, leaves) and how this changes with shrub size for the three dominant species of shrubs in the Occidental District of the Patagonian steppe. We also describe the population size structure of the three species in grazed fields and estimate their contribution to total abundance and biomass through a non-destructive method. We developed allometric equations to estimate aboveground biomass components of individual shrubs from structural descriptors (i.e., diameter and height of the crown), sampling individual plants of different sizes. The variable that best predicted biomass of the three species was the sum of the height and the average diameter of the crown (calculated with the largest diameter and its perpendicular). Allometric models for each species explained more than 83% of the variability of individual aboveground biomass. At the individual level, species had different proportions of wood, leaves and specific wood weight. Increasing shrub size was accompanied by changes in the proportion of leaves to wood, and in some cases, the percentage of dead crown. At the population level, the three species differed in size distribution in moderately grazed fields. Development of allometric models from a population perspective is important to study demographic processes that drive community and ecosystem responses to environmental and land-use changes.
format JOUR
author Oñatibia, G.R.
Aguiar, M.R.
Cipriotti, P.A.
Troiano, F.
author_facet Oñatibia, G.R.
Aguiar, M.R.
Cipriotti, P.A.
Troiano, F.
author_sort Oñatibia, G.R.
title Individual plant and population biomass of dominant shrubs in Patagonian grazed fields
title_short Individual plant and population biomass of dominant shrubs in Patagonian grazed fields
title_full Individual plant and population biomass of dominant shrubs in Patagonian grazed fields
title_fullStr Individual plant and population biomass of dominant shrubs in Patagonian grazed fields
title_full_unstemmed Individual plant and population biomass of dominant shrubs in Patagonian grazed fields
title_sort individual plant and population biomass of dominant shrubs in patagonian grazed fields
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_03275477_v20_n3_p269_Onatibia
work_keys_str_mv AT onatibiagr individualplantandpopulationbiomassofdominantshrubsinpatagoniangrazedfields
AT aguiarmr individualplantandpopulationbiomassofdominantshrubsinpatagoniangrazedfields
AT cipriottipa individualplantandpopulationbiomassofdominantshrubsinpatagoniangrazedfields
AT troianof individualplantandpopulationbiomassofdominantshrubsinpatagoniangrazedfields
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