Invasion dynamics of Pinus radiata following fire occurrence in South-Central Chile

In order to characterise the plantation, three squared 20x20 m plots were established under the plantation stand in each site. Plantation density (trees/ha) if possible, tree height (m) and serontinity level (percentage of open and closed cones related to total cones on each tree sampled on plantation canopy) was determined. Other data such as plantation year, and year of fire occurrence was collected from plantation owners. To register the number of open and closed cones, three trees were randomly selected at each site and two observers counted the number of cones still present in the canopy using binoculars for taller trees. Tree height was estimated using a hypsometer.

On each sampling site, starting from plantation edge, three 2 m wide transects were established. Each transect was divided into 10 m long sections and went on for as long as possible (depending on the native patch size) and into a maximum of 100 m long sections, to characterise the first wave of invasion (sensu Richardson and Higgins (1998) originated from short distance dispersal (Figure 3). On each section, all P. radiata wilding trees were registered, together with the height of the tallest tree (m) and its age (years).

To characterise the native patch neighbouring the commercial plantation, data was collected from the same three established transects. In each section the percentage of ground, understory and canopy cover was determined following Braun-Blanquet abundance-cover index. In this case, we used 5 categories, starting from 0 to 4.

There are some missing data regarding the commercial plantation (height, density), because in some cases no trees survived the fires.

This dataset is included in the following collections

Optimising the long term management of invasive species affecting biodiversity, carbon storage, and the rural economy in South America using adaptive management