ISHS Acta Horticulturae 615: IV International Conifer Conference
THE USE AND CONSERVATION OF FITZROYA CUPRESSOIDES (ALERCE) FORESTS IN CHILE |
| Authors: | A. Lara, M.F. Gardner, R. Vergara |
| Keywords: | Andes, CITES, conifers, Fitzroya, forest dynamics, forest fires, illegal cutting |
| Abstract:
Fitzroya cupressoides (alerce) is a long-lived conifer endemic to the temperate rainforests of southern Chile (39°50' to 43°30'S) and portions of adjacent Argentina. Fitzroya may live for over 3,600 years, reaching 5 m in diameter and 50 m in height. More than three centuries of over-exploitation, owing to the beauty and durability of Fitzroya wood as well as human-set fires and conversion to pasture-land, have significantly reduced its original abundance and have left extensive degraded forests. Therefore, Fitzroya is considered a threatened species; cutting of living trees is prohibited and it is listed under CITES Appendix I, forbidding its international trade. Despite this protection, illegal cutting and human-set fires on these forests are widespread and its wood is still exported. Given this situation, conservation efforts in the last years have been focused on the investigation of illegal fellings, the creation of public and private protected areas, and on the research forest ecology and dynamics, genetic variation and propagation of the species. This research has formed the basis to start small-scale plantations for ecological restoration. Future conservation activities should be focused on the enforcement of the legal protection, as well as on the development of alternative uses for these forests including ecological restoration, protection in set-aside public and private areas, and ecotourism. | |
Download Adobe Acrobat Reader (free software to read PDF files) | |
