Fire regime reconstruction in a Prosopis caldenia woodland, La Pampa, Argentina

Abstract

Since the introduction of forestry and livestock actitvities Prosopis caldenia (caldén) woodlands have undergone drastic structural changes. Fire has played an important role in such changes although cause-effect relationships have not been established conclusively. In this paper the fire regime that ocurred in a caldén woodland in estancia Bajo Verde, La Pampa Province, Argentina, is reconstructed, through dendrochronological analysis of fire scars recorded in sections of the trunk. The fire regime in the study area has been very dynamic during the 19th and 20th centuries. The important changes in frequency and areal extent that fires have experienced are probably related to changes in human occupation and land use patterns. This information would be useful for assessing the degree of influence of fire in the spatio-temporal variations in caldén woodlands.