Crecimiento inicial y caracteres funcionales de ciprés de la cordillera y coihue en distintas condiciones de luz y humedad

Abstract

Andean cypress and coihue are endemic species of the Andean-Patagonian forest of Argentina, which grow in pure or mixed formations. Both have an important ecological role in the region and great productive potential. However, knowledge about how humidity and light condition its early development is limited. In this study, under nursery conditions during two growing seasons, was determined the response of cypress and coihue to the combined effect of different light and soil moisture regimes on survival; height, collar diameter, and stem volume increment; and in the following functional traits: leaf thickness and tensile strength, specific leaf area, total leaf area, leaf area/sapwood area to collar ratio, dry weight of the different compartments (leaves, branches, and roots), and internode length. Both species showed similar responses to the factors studied in survival and initial development, although coihue showed, in general terms, greater growth and lower survival than cypress. A low light level negatively affected the development of both species. The humidity levels used (>8 %) did not have significant effects on growth, but they did show effects on the functional traits of both species and conditioned the survival of coihue. It is concluded that the best performance of both species occurs in intermediate light conditions.