A Critical Assessment of the Adaptive Capacity of Land Use Change in Chile: A Socio-Ecological Approach

Land use and land cover change (LULCC) can be defined as a socio-ecological system (SES): social, economic, and political processes in interaction with ecological processes result in a given land use trend. Instead of forest recovery, Chile has been identified as a case of a forest transition dominated by commercial plantations. This chapter aims to examine the process LULCC in Chile from a socio-ecological perspective. Drawing upon frameworks of SES by Scheffer et al., this chapter analyzes the adaptive capacity of LULCC in Chile. First, SES concepts are presented. The next section is a summary of the political and economic process that underpinned the plantation transition in Chile and its consequences on the landscape. In light of SES theory, the 518,174 hectares wildfire observed in 2017 is a consequence of the lack of adaptive capacity. Nevertheless, Chile’s LULCC is unlikely to change due to abovementioned dynamics. Finally, this chapter discusses the implications for policy making and the global forest transition discussion. In summary, using the case of Chile, this chapter aims to contribute to SES theory and forest policy, seeking sustainable futures based on a systemic view

The Geography of Nostalgia: global and local perspectives on modernity and loss

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Citizen Science as Democratic Innovation That Renews Environmental Monitoring and Assessment for the Sustainable Development Goals in Rural Areas

This commentary focuses on analyzing the potential of citizen science to address legitimacy issues in the knowledge base used to guide transformative governance in the context of the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (henceforth SDGs). The commentary develops two interrelated arguments for better understanding the limits of what we term "traditional" Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (EMA) as well as the potential of citizen science (CS) for strengthening the legitimacy of EMA in the local implementation of SDGs. We start by arguing that there is an urgent need for a profound renewal of traditional EMA to better implement the SDGs. Then, we present CS as a democratic innovation that provides a path to EMA renewal that incorporates, develops, and extends the role of CS in data production and use by EMA. The commentary substantiates such arguments based on current approaches to CS and traditional EMA. From this starting point, we theorize the potential of CS as a democratic innovation that can repurpose EMA as a tool for the implementation of the SDGs. With a focus on the implementation of SDG15 (Life on Land) in local contexts, the commentary presents CS as a democratic innovation for legitimate transformative governance that can affect socio-ecological transitions. We see this approach as especially appropriate to analyze the implementation of SDGs in rural settings where a specific resource nexus can create conflict-laden contexts with much potential for a renewed EMA to support transformative governance towards Agenda 2030

From the Holocene to the Anthropocene: a historical framework for land cover change in southwestern South America in the past 15,000 years.

a b s t r a c t The main forest transitions that took place in south-central Chile from the end of the last glaciation to the present are reviewed here with the aim of identifying the main climatic and socio-economic drivers of land cover change. The first great transition, driven primarily by global warming, is the postglacial expansion of forests, with human populations from about 15,000 cal. yr. BP, restricted to coastlines and river basins and localized impact of forest fire. Charcoal evidence of fire increased in south-central Chile and in global records from about 12,000 to 6000 cal. yr. BP, which could be attributed at least partly to people. The subsequent expansion of agriculture led to much clearing of forests and the spread of weeds and other indicators of open habitats. The Spanish colonial period in America may have been followed by a transient expansion of forest cover into abandoned land, as indigenous population declined rapidly due to disease and slaughter. The 18th and 19th centuries brought about extensive loss of forests due to the massive impact of lumber extraction for mining operations both in central Chile and in western North America. Two centuries of intensive deforestation, coupled to grazing by cattle and extremely variable rainfall had long-lasting effects on forest cover in south-central Chile, which persist until today. The transition from a preindustrial to an industrial society brought about the "golden age" of timber harvest, assisted by mobile sawmills and railway transportation since the late 1800s. These advances led to the exhaustion of native commercial timber by the late 20th century in south-central Chile. In North America, harvestable stands were exhausted in New England and the Midwest around 1920. Settlement of the independent territories in the late 1800s and early 1900s implied vast burning and clearing of land and mounting soil erosion. Industrial forestry, based on government-subsidized massive plantations of short-rotation exotic trees, developed in the late 20th century, in connection with postindustrial displacement of exploitative activities from developed to third-world nations. In the last two decades, economic globalization and free trade promoted the expansion of new crops and further decline of woodlands, despite modest increases in forest cover. These patterns are repeated in many Latin American countries. To prevent further depletion of native forest resources and to provide an insurance against climate change, in the 21st century developing nations should aim at: (1) relocating subsidies from fiber farms to restoring diverse forest cover, (2) promoting ecosystem management of diverse forest and crops within landscapes, and (3) fostering diverse cultural relationships between people and their land

Senda Darwin Biological Station: Long-term ecological research at the interface between science and society

Indexación: Web of Science; Scielo.La Estación Biológica Senda Darwin (EBSD) constituye un centro de investigación inmerso en el paisaje rural del norte de la Isla de Chiloé (42º S), donde fragmentos del bosque siempreverde original coexisten con praderas de uso ganadero, turberas de Sphagnum, matorrales sucesionales, plantaciones de Eucalyptus y otras formaciones de origen antropogénico. Desde 1994 hemos realizado estudios de largo plazo centrados en algunas especies de plantas (e.g., Pilgerodendron uviferum D. Don) y animales (e.g., Aphrastura spinicauda Gmelin, Dromiciops gliroides [Thomas]) catalogados como amenazados o escasamente conocidos y en ecosistemas nativos de importancia regional y global (e.g., turberas de Sphagnum, bosque Valdiviano y Nordpatagónico). Las investigaciones han considerado las respuestas de las especies y de los ecosistemas frente al cambio antropogénico del paisaje y cambio climático, así como los efectos de diferentes formas de manejo. Este escenario es semejante al de otras regiones de Chile y Latinoamérica lo que da generalidad a nuestros resultados y modelos. En este período, investigadores asociados a la EBSD han producido más de un centenar de publicaciones en revistas nacionales e internacionales y 30 tesis de pre y postgrado. Entendiendo el papel clave de los seres humanos en los procesos ecológicos de la zona rural, la EBSD ha desarrollado un programa de educación ecológica y vinculación del avance científico con la sociedad local y nacional. La integración de la EBSD a la naciente red de Sitios de Estudios Socio-Ecológicos de Largo Plazo en Chile consolidará y fortalecerá la investigación básica y aplicada que realizamos para proyectarla hacia la siguiente década.Senda Darwin Biological Station (SDBS) is a field research center immersed in the rural landscape of northern Chiloé island (42º S), where remnant patches of the original evergreen forests coexist with open pastures, secondary successional shrublands, Sphagnum bogs, Eucalyptus plantations and other anthropogenic cover types, constituting an agricultural frontier similar to other regions in Chile and Latin America. Since 1994, we have conducted long-term research on selected species of plants (e.g., Pilgerodendron uviferum) and animals (e.g., Aphrastura spinicauda, Dromiciops glirioides) that are considered threatened, poorly known or important for their ecological functions in local ecosystems, and on ecosystems of regional and global relevance (e.g., Sphagnum bogs, North Patagonian and Valdivian rain forests). Research has assessed the responses of species and ecosystems to anthropogenic land-use change, climate change, and the impact of management. During this period, more than 100 scientific publications in national and international journals, and 30 theses (graduate and undergraduate) have been produced by scientists and students associated with SDBS. Because of our understanding of the key role that humans play in ecological processes at this agricultural frontier, since the establishment of SDBS we have been committed to creative research on the communication of science to society and ecological education. The integration of SDBS to the nascent Chilean network of long-term socio-ecological research will consolidate and strengthen basic and applied research to project our work into the next decade.http://ref.scielo.org/vbm4r

Research priorities for maintaining biodiversity’s contributions to people in Latin America

Maintaining biodiversity is crucial for ensuring human well-being. The authors participated in a workshop held in Palenque, Mexico, in August 2018, that brought together 30 mostly early-career scientists working in different disciplines (natural, social and economic sciences) with the aim of identifying research priorities for studying the contributions of biodiversity to people and how these contributions might be impacted by environmental change. Five main groups of questions emerged: (1) Enhancing the quantity, quality, and availability of biodiversity data; (2) Integrating different knowledge systems; (3) Improved methods for integrating diverse data; (4) Fundamental questions in ecology and evolution; and (5) Multi-level governance across boundaries. We discuss the need for increased capacity building and investment in research programmes to address these challenges

Inversión estatal en investigación y desarrollo forestal frente a la COP-25: ¿Libres de elegir entre bosques nativos y plantaciones exóticas? ¿Libres de elegir entre bosques nativos y plantaciones exóticas?

Within the context of the Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP25), the Chilean government is considering the forestry sector as one of the major carbon sinks, which would allow a reduction of the carbon intensity of the economy. The policy proposal currently includes subsidies for both native forests and for exotic plantations. Given this policy proposal, I examine how much public investment has been devoted to research and development of the native species and the forestry plantations. The hypothesis is that public investment has been greater in exotic species than in native species. I constructed and analyzed a database of 1,139 projects financed totally or partially by the State between 1981 and 2018. I compared the totals amounts allocated for each sector, as well as temporal and spatial dynamics. Overall, research and development in exotic species received 1.5 times more funds than research and development in native species. On average, a project dedicated to exotic species was 1.6 more expensive than a project on native species. Since 2010, there has been an upward trend in public investment on research and development on native species. However, the trend based solely on the Native Forest Research Fund (Law 20.283). Finally, I discuss the implications of these knowledge and development inequalities. I conclude that differences in investment and development in the forestry sector have helped to build a sector based on very profitable forest plantations, at the expense of the development of native forests and their territorEn el contexto de la conferencia de las Partes sobre Cambio Climático (COP25) se plantea que el sector forestal sería uno de los grandes sumideros de carbono que le permitirían a Chile disminuir la intensidad de sus emisiones de carbono. El gobierno plantea que las opciones de mitigación que ofrece el manejo de bosque nativo, junto con una renovada expansión de las plantaciones forestales contribuirían a esta meta. Ante esta propuesta cabe preguntarse cuanto ha invertido el Estado en desarrollar investigación, tecnología y desarrollo productivo de estas dos opciones. La hipótesis es que se ha invertido más en especies exóticas que en bosque nativo. Se elaboró y analizó una base de datos de proyectos financiados total o parcialmente por el Estado. Se analizaron 1.139 proyectos entre los años 1981 y 2018, los que se compararon en términos de los montos asignados, dinámicas temporales y espaciales. Se asignó en total 1,5 veces más fondos a proyectos de investigación y desarrollo en plantaciones forestales que a proyectos similares basados en especies nativas, siendo un proyecto de especies exóticas 1,6 más caro que su contraparte. Desde 2010, ha habido una tendencia al alza en proyectos sobre especies nativas, sin embargo, esto se sostiene únicamente en el Fondo de Investigación para el Bosque Nativo. Se discuten las implicancias de estas desigualdades de conocimiento y desarrollo. Se concluye que las diferencias en inversión y desarrollo en el sector forestal han ayudado a construir sector basado en plantaciones forestales muy rentables, en desmedro del desarrollo de los bosques nativos y sus territorios

Integrating socio-ecological dynamics into land use policy outcomes: A spatial scenario approach for native forest conservation in south-central Chile

Chile is one of the first documented nations to undergo a forest transition dominated by tree farm expansion. Scenario modelling can inform the possible outcomes of forest conservation policies, especially when the scenarios are rooted in the political dynamics that shaped the current legislation. In Chile, tree farms of non-native Radiata Pine and Eucalyptus provide a fast return on investment. Today, fast-growing plantations compete for land area with forest conservation, putting the unique bundle of ecosystem services provided by the latter at risk. Based on a previous political analysis, we propose scenarios projected to 2030 to compare a business-as-usual scenario with A) a conservation scenario based on strict land use restrictions B) an optimistic conservation scenario; C) an unrestricted industrial land use scenario; and D) a restricted industrial land use scenario. The scenarios differ in terms of the implemented policy instruments and the land area required for each la