TY - JOUR AU - Vargas-Gaete, Rodrigo AU - Salas-Eljatib, Christian AU - Penneckamp, Diego AU - Neira, Zoia AU - Diez, M. Cristina AU - Vargas-Picón, Ricardo PY - 2020/06/30 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - Structure and regeneration of Prumnopitys andina forests in the Andes of southern Chile JF - Gayana Botanica JA - Gayana Bot. VL - 77 IS - 1 SE - ORIGINAL ARTICLES DO - UR - https://gayanabotanica.cl/index.php/gb/article/view/Vargas-Gaete_etal_2020 SP - 48-58 AB - <p><em>Prumnopitys andina</em> is a conifer tree species with a narrow distribution in Chile and Argentina. Despite its ecological importance, knowledge about the structure and dynamics of the forests where <em>P. andina</em> grows is limited. We aim to describe the structure and regeneration of forest with high presence of <em>P. andina</em>. Forests near Lonquimay (38°1' S, 71.3 W - 38°3'S, 71°3' W) were sampled by measuring trees, regeneration and vascular flora through 24 plots. We found that <em>P. andina</em> predominantly occurs in the upper canopy (15-18 m), usually in company of <em>Nothofagus obliqua </em>and/or<em> Austrocedrus chilensis, </em>in addition to<em> Maytenus boaria</em> and <em>Lomatia hirsuta </em>that occur in the mid-canopy (4-8 m). Based on forest structure, we identified three types of <em>P. andina</em> forests: open, secondary-mature, and pure. Pure <em>P. andina</em> forests reached basal areas among the largest reported for for temperate forests southern South America (230 m<sup>2</sup>/ha). <em>P. andina</em> regeneration ranged from 1,550 individuals/ha in open forests to 25,000 individuals/ha in pure forests. <em>P. andina</em> exhibited a continuous regeneration strategy, which in the absence of human disturbances, such as grazing by cattle or selective logging, suggests that its populations are self-sustaining.</p> ER -