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Invasive pines in Argentinian grasslands: lessons from control operations

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Abstract

Biological invasions are one of the most important challenges for protected areas around the world, both because of the seriousness of their effects and because of the costs and difficulties associated with their control. Some features of the biology of invasive species, such as growth rate and reproduction, can be particularly important when organizing control actions. Moreover, the control actions themselves can be used to gather information to adjust their effectiveness. In mountain habitats, understanding how topography influences recruitment, growth and reproduction can provide key information for optimizing prevention and control efforts. In this article, we used data from 9093 cutted invasive Aleppo pines (Pinus halepensis) obtained from management operations in a natural reserve in the Southern Argentinian Pampas. Our results reveal variations in the growth rate, cone production and seed release in response to topography. The specimens that grow at higher altitudes exhibit larger diameters than those of equal age growing at lower altitudes. A greater frequency of individuals with thick trunks in the mountains tops has operative implications when selecting cutting tools and calculating effort and frequency of tools maintenance. We also found that trees located in higher environments start releasing seeds at a younger age. This could mean potential higher population growth rates in this habitat and as a consequence in greater risk of long-distance dispersal, highlighting the need to prioritize control operations in higher areas and to increase the frequency between successive controls to avoid the release of seeds that can be dispersed over long distances.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Argentina and Universidad Nacional del Sur, Bahía Blanca, Argentina. We wish to thank at the Ernesto Tornquist Provincial Park rangers and authorities and to Verónica Gil for collaborating with the digital elevation model. We are also grateful to anonymous reviewers who provided helpful comments on earlier versions of the manuscript.

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  1. GEKKO, Grupo de Estudios en Conservación y Manejo, Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia, Universidad Nacional del Sur, 670 (8000), San Juan, Bahía Blanca, Argentina

    Gabriela I. E. Brancatelli, Martín R. Amodeo, Yannina A. Cuevas & Sergio M. Zalba

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  1. Gabriela I. E. Brancatelli
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Brancatelli, G.I.E., Amodeo, M.R., Cuevas, Y.A. et al. Invasive pines in Argentinian grasslands: lessons from control operations. Biol Invasions 22, 473–484 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-019-02103-9

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