---
OA_type: closed access
_id: '20429'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: Plant–plant interactions are key to understanding ecosystem services and shaping
    restoration strategies, as they can produce either negative or positive effects,
    determining species establishment and growth. Recognizing these interactions during
    early-life stages provides valuable insights for restoration in human-disturbed
    areas. One promising approach is nucleation planting, which establishes small
    clusters of native species in strategically selected sites, being particularly
    useful in sites with large herbivores. In southern Patagonia, livestock production
    has historically been the main economic activity, severely impacting extensive
    areas of Nothofagus antarctica forest through grazing and intentional burning
    to increase forage. In this context, nucleation planting with Berberis microphylla,
    a non-palatable shrub, could foster forest recovery in degraded sites. To evaluate
    this, we conducted an experiment testing the response of trees to varying shrub
    number, while also assessing intraspecific effects in both species. We measured
    survival, biomass, and functional traits. Results showed that the combination
    of four shrubs surrounding a single tree maintained tree survival at levels comparable
    to trees growing alone, while seedlings exhibited conspecific negative plant number
    dependence. Additionally, B. microphylla increased its below- to above-ground
    biomass ratio under higher plant number, indicating resource reallocation and
    niche differentiation through spatial separation of root systems.
article_processing_charge: No
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: Gimena Noemí
  full_name: Bustamante, Gimena Noemí
  last_name: Bustamante
- first_name: Miriam Elisabet
  full_name: Arena, Miriam Elisabet
  last_name: Arena
- first_name: Luciano
  full_name: Selzer, Luciano
  last_name: Selzer
- first_name: Matthew
  full_name: Ruggirello, Matthew
  last_name: Ruggirello
- first_name: Paula
  full_name: Rodríguez, Paula
  last_name: Rodríguez
- first_name: Samuele
  full_name: Pedrazzani, Samuele
  last_name: Pedrazzani
- first_name: Jose Antonio
  full_name: Navarro-Cano, Jose Antonio
  last_name: Navarro-Cano
- first_name: Rosina Matilde
  full_name: Soler Schaller, Rosina Matilde
  id: 9e668447-8c32-11ed-b0c7-8dc2d7b80803
  last_name: Soler Schaller
citation:
  ama: 'Bustamante GN, Arena ME, Selzer L, et al. Biotic interactions between trees
    and colonizing shrubs: Implications for active restoration in southern Patagonian
    forests. <i>Plant Ecology</i>. 2025;226:1301-1313. doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-025-01568-0">10.1007/s11258-025-01568-0</a>'
  apa: 'Bustamante, G. N., Arena, M. E., Selzer, L., Ruggirello, M., Rodríguez, P.,
    Pedrazzani, S., … Soler Schaller, R. M. (2025). Biotic interactions between trees
    and colonizing shrubs: Implications for active restoration in southern Patagonian
    forests. <i>Plant Ecology</i>. Springer Nature. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-025-01568-0">https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-025-01568-0</a>'
  chicago: 'Bustamante, Gimena Noemí, Miriam Elisabet Arena, Luciano Selzer, Matthew
    Ruggirello, Paula Rodríguez, Samuele Pedrazzani, Jose Antonio Navarro-Cano, and
    Rosina Matilde Soler Schaller. “Biotic Interactions between Trees and Colonizing
    Shrubs: Implications for Active Restoration in Southern Patagonian Forests.” <i>Plant
    Ecology</i>. Springer Nature, 2025. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-025-01568-0">https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-025-01568-0</a>.'
  ieee: 'G. N. Bustamante <i>et al.</i>, “Biotic interactions between trees and colonizing
    shrubs: Implications for active restoration in southern Patagonian forests,” <i>Plant
    Ecology</i>, vol. 226. Springer Nature, pp. 1301–1313, 2025.'
  ista: 'Bustamante GN, Arena ME, Selzer L, Ruggirello M, Rodríguez P, Pedrazzani
    S, Navarro-Cano JA, Soler Schaller RM. 2025. Biotic interactions between trees
    and colonizing shrubs: Implications for active restoration in southern Patagonian
    forests. Plant Ecology. 226, 1301–1313.'
  mla: 'Bustamante, Gimena Noemí, et al. “Biotic Interactions between Trees and Colonizing
    Shrubs: Implications for Active Restoration in Southern Patagonian Forests.” <i>Plant
    Ecology</i>, vol. 226, Springer Nature, 2025, pp. 1301–13, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-025-01568-0">10.1007/s11258-025-01568-0</a>.'
  short: G.N. Bustamante, M.E. Arena, L. Selzer, M. Ruggirello, P. Rodríguez, S. Pedrazzani,
    J.A. Navarro-Cano, R.M. Soler Schaller, Plant Ecology 226 (2025) 1301–1313.
date_created: 2025-10-05T22:01:36Z
date_published: 2025-12-01T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2026-01-05T13:23:57Z
day: '01'
department:
- _id: NiBa
doi: 10.1007/s11258-025-01568-0
external_id:
  isi:
  - '001581599800001'
intvolume: '       226'
isi: 1
language:
- iso: eng
month: '12'
oa_version: None
page: 1301-1313
publication: Plant Ecology
publication_identifier:
  eissn:
  - 1573-5052
  issn:
  - 1385-0237
publication_status: published
publisher: Springer Nature
quality_controlled: '1'
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: 'Biotic interactions between trees and colonizing shrubs: Implications for
  active restoration in southern Patagonian forests'
type: journal_article
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
volume: 226
year: '2025'
...