Natural regeneration in a lenga (Nothofagus pumilio (Poepp et Endl.) Krasser) forest under a group selection system

Abstract

The procedure used by the State Forest Service of the Chubut province (Argentina) is changing in Lenga forests, and a group selection system has been adopted to promote natural regeneration. The objective of this work is to gather information on the behavior of regeneration at different stages of the application of group selection cuttings. Thus, an analysis of regeneration establishment and development in a Lenga forest, managed through group selection cuttings, was carried out. Regeneration was analyzed in three aspects: (a) a situation similar to that before the first cut; (b) regeneration in gaps formed 40 years ago (by the first cut); and (c) the harvest effects on regeneration produced by gap enlargement during the second cut. The results suggest that the group selection system in the analyzed forest allows for the successful establishment of natural regeneration, which was observed in a high percentage of sample plots throughout the forest. There was also a favorable reaction to gap opening, and damage to the regeneration resulting from harvest operations was within acceptable limits.