Secondary Nothofagus dombeyi forests: site index curves and dominant height in the Coastal Range of south-central Chile

Abstract

Nothofagus dombeyi is distributed on very diverse sites in the temperate forests of Chile and Argentina. In Chile, studies on its dynamics and productivity in forests, where it is the dominant species, have been carried out mainly in the foothills of the Andes, but the productivity and growth of these forests in the Coastal Range are almost unknown. The objective of this study was to evaluate the construction of a single dominant height/age growth model for two homogeneous edaphoclimatic zones (ZEH 2 and 5) previously defined for this species in the Coastal Range of southcentral Chile. The results showed that the Chapman–Richards model was the best candidate function, in terms of goodness of fit and predictive capabilities. Using this function, specific parameters (a, b and c) were obtained for each zone, from which site models were constructed by the Algebraic Difference Approach method for a base age of 35 years. This model is intended to contribute to better estimations of site productivity for N. dombeyi forests in the Coastal Range of south-central Chile, and thus facilitate private and public decisions regarding their management.

Keywords: coihue, edaphoclimatic zones, evergreen, management, temperate forests