Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, P.O. Box 653, Santiago, Chile.
Conserv Biol. 2013 Oct;27(5):1117-21. doi: 10.1111/cobi.12129. Epub 2013 Aug 23.
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) expects forestry plantations to contribute to biodiversity conservation. A well-developed understory in forestry plantations might serve as a surrogate habitat for native species and mitigate the negative effect of plantations on species richness. We experimentally tested this hypothesis by removing the understory in Monterey pine (Pinus radiata) plantations in central Chile and assessing changes in species richness and abundance of medium-sized mammals. Frequency of occurrence of mammals, including kodkods (Leopardus guigna), culpeo foxes (Pseudalopex culpaeus), lesser grisons (Conepatus chinga), and Southern pudu deer (Pudu puda), was low in forest stands with little to no understory relative to stands with well-developed undergrowth vegetation. After removing the understory, their frequency of occurrence decreased significantly, whereas in control stands, where understory was not removed, their frequency did not change. This result strongly supports the idea that facilitating the development of undergrowth vegetation may turn forestry stands into secondary habitats as opposed to their containing no habitat for native mammals. This forestry practice could contribute to conservation of biological diversity as it pertains to CBD targets.
《生物多样性公约》（CBD）期望林业种植园为生物多样性保护做出贡献。林业种植园中发达的林下植被可以作为本土物种的替代生境，并减轻种植园对物种丰富度的负面影响。我们通过在智利中部的辐射松（Pinus radiata）种植园中去除林下植被，并评估中型哺乳动物的物种丰富度和数量变化，实验验证了这一假设。哺乳动物的出现频率，包括 kodkod（Leopardus guigna）、culpeo 狐狸（Pseudalopex culpaeus）、小美洲狮（Conepatus chinga）和南方豚鹿（Pudu puda），在林下植被稀少或没有的林分中相对较低，而在林下植被发达的林分中则较高。去除林下植被后，它们的出现频率显著下降，而在对照林中，林下植被没有被去除，它们的出现频率没有变化。这一结果有力地支持了这样一种观点，即促进林下植被的发展可以使林业种植园成为次要栖息地，而不是没有本土哺乳动物栖息地。这种林业实践可以为《生物多样性公约》的目标所涉及的生物多样性保护做出贡献。
