Research areas

• Silviculture   

• Forest ecology

• Regeneration ecology and silviculture (natural and plantation)

• Ecological forest management 

• Forest restoration

These research areas are under develop in different forest types within temperate (Valdivian and north Patagonian) forest ecosystems of Chile. All of them are mostly related to Evergreen Forest type between Valdivia (i.e. Valdivian temperate rainforests) to Aysén region (i.e. Western Patagonia), and most of the research is related to the responds of different trees (e.g. late, mid and early successional) and functional groups (e.g. intolerant, midtolerant, and tolerant to shade), and plant communities to ecological silviculture and variable-density thinnings to promote old-growth attributes by maintaining or increasing forest vitality and resilience through manipulated overstory disturbances. Also, we are testing the long-term effects of silvicultural methods (e.g. clearcutting, shelterwood, seed tree, and single-tree selection) which provided the basis for the forest law in Chile. In Coihue-Raulí-Tepa Forest type in the Andes of Valdivian temperate forests, the research is mostly related to rehabilitation of degraded forests or those forests labeled locally within the arrested succession concept after high-grading. In these conditions, we are using niche concept to understand and improve the safe site conditions to enhance the desired tree regeneration that promote successional progression following high-grading, and in very degraded conditions using underplanting settings. In western Patagonia, we are testing the effects of precipitation gradient on forest structural complexity using LiDAR technology and how old selective harvestings (>30 years) influence the forest structural complexity, ecological processes, biodiversity and productivity in the long term. Also, we are testing the effect of low severity harvesting (i.e. single-tree selection) on different processes (decomposition, regeneration), diversity (understory plants and insects), productivity (net primary productivity using LiDAR images) along precipitation gradients in Lenga forest type. Last, we are investigating the the drivers of mortality-growth relationship along the extraordinary distribution range of lenga forests (>2k km) -from mediterrean to sub-antartic zone.

All this research is under strong collaboration effort with different colleagues and funded by ANID.