Macroclimate and local hydrological regime as drivers of fen vegetation patterns in Tierra del Fuego (Argentina)

Abstract

In southern South America, a sharp macroclimatic gradient is found, triggered by the Pacific oceanic influence through the Andes. Mires are substantial landscape units along the gradient, where they play varying roles through the area and include varying plant communities. In this study, we analysed the relationship between vegetation and main abiotic factors in the minerotrophic mires (fens) at two different scales. We chose three fens in Isla Grande from Cordillera and Magellanic Steppe zones and their ecotone. There we characterized the distinct habitats by means of monitoring the water table fluctuations, the peat and the groundwater chemistry, and the vascular plant species composition. The main floristic patterns were revealed by means of classification and ordination of 75 vegetation plots. Thus, we classified the relevés through multivariate analyses into six plant community types, two of which found in each fen. Behind the floristic distinctiveness of each site and each community type, structural vegetation descriptors such as species richness were similar. Overall, water table variables and groundwater chemistry showed the most important environmental differences between fens. Our data point that the main environmental force driving vegetation patterns was the macroclimatic gradient, which shapes the regional floristic pools. This gradient would be also responsible for modifying the local conditions of the fen habitats, mostly in the form of broadening the hydrological conditions within the fens of the Steppe. At each fen, the hydrological regime is the main factor in the distribution of vascular plants, particularly through the varying water table depths.