A partnership to tackle threats to Araucaria araucana in Argentina

A partnership to tackle threats to Araucaria araucana in Argentina

Intercultural and intersectoral partnership approach to address Araucaria araucana threats to achieve recovery of the Araucaria forests affected by wildfires

Partner: Propatagonia
Years: 2021-2024

This project aims to improve the Araucaria Forest management and conservation by reducing wildfires occurrences, restoring ecologically affected forests, establishing seed collection management plans and increasing the awareness of this ecosystem natural and cultural values and threats at four towns and six regional Mapuche communities.

Araucaria araucana

Araucaria araucana is an impressively large, long-lived and large-seeded emergent conifer. This iconic species is rare and endemic from southern Argentina and Chile. It has a low fertility, poor passive dispersal, and clear limitations in term of natural regeneration capacity. This species in notably important for a diverse assemblage of birds, mammals and insects who depend on its seeds for their survival and reproduction. However, Araucaria araucana is subject to strong direct and indirect pressures by human activities, livestock, exotic granivorous mammals and invasive pines, as well as the increased frequency of large and intense forest fires as a consequence of climate change.

Given this complex combination of threats, the project aims to strengthen an intercultural and intersectoral conservation approach in order to reduce wildfires occurrences, recover affected forest through ecological restoration, establish seed gathering management plans and increase the awareness of the ecosystem natural and cultural values and threats at four towns and six regional Mapuche communities.