Native Plant Production in Chile. Is It Possible to Achieve Restoration Goals by 2035?

Manuel Acevedo, Carolina Álvarez-Maldini, R. Kasten Dumroese, Jan R. Bannister, Eduardo Cartes and Marta González
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Manuel Acevedo: Instituto Forestal, Centro Tecnológico de la Planta Forestal, Región del Biobío 7770223, Chile
Carolina Álvarez-Maldini: Instituto de Ciencias Agro-alimentarias, Animales y Ambientales (ICA3), Campus Colchagua, Universidad de O’Higgins, San Fernando 2840440, Chile
R. Kasten Dumroese: USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Moscow, ID 83843, USA
Jan R. Bannister: Instituto Forestal, Oficina Chiloé, Castro 5700000, Chile
Eduardo Cartes: Instituto Forestal, Centro Tecnológico de la Planta Forestal, Región del Biobío 7770223, Chile
Marta González: Instituto Forestal, Centro Tecnológico de la Planta Forestal, Región del Biobío 7770223, Chile

Land, 2021, vol. 10, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Facing rapid loss of biodiversity as a consequence of climate change, Chile has formally pledged to restore 600,000 ha of native forest by 2035. This effort, however, has not considered the amount and quality of native plants required to meet this pledge. Thus, we examined data collected during the annual, government-conducted census of small- and medium-sized nurseries from central Chile, which account for 78% of the nation’s total plant production, to assess if current production is sufficient to meet Chile´s restoration needs. We coupled this with data collected during our series of ongoing research projects to determine if nurseries are currently meeting minimum seedling quality standards based on morpho-physiological attributes. Our four-year analysis (2016–2019) shows that the number of native seedlings has increased by only 4%, but because only 19% of nursery managers have training, just 29% of all seedlings meet quality criteria for restoration. Thus, under the current rate and quality of plant production, meeting restoration pledges desired by the year 2035 would not be achieved until 2181. This timeline can be accelerated through an urgent expansion of nursery space, implementation of a continuous program for technology and knowledge transference, and strong support through governmental policies.

Keywords: nurseries; management practices; international agreement; seedling attributes (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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