Payments for ecosystem services (PES) programs are a common policy tool to conserve forests. Effective PES programs attain conservation and social equity outcomes by actively engaging diverse ...landowners in long‐term land stewardship and meeting landowners’ needs. In 2017–2018, we conducted 32 in‐depth interviews with landowners, technicians, and government officials to attain insights into how the PES program in Salta province, Argentina, has performed in terms of (1) motivating landowners to enroll in PES, and (2) ensuring their satisfaction with the design and performance of the program, a necessary precondition to ensure long‐term forest stewardship. Interviewees suggested that landowners enroll in PES because they are restricted from engaging in more profitable land uses, they are not reliant on income from their land, they need PES payments to cover their land management costs, they are unable or unwilling to sell their land because their property values have been adversely impacted by land‐use restrictions, they want to sustainably manage forested land, and/or they want to protect their property rights. Interviewees stated that land title requirements, conflicts over user rights, and high transaction costs hinder PES enrollment and exacerbate social conflicts between landowners and indigenous communities. Finally, interviewees questioned the conservation effectiveness of the PES program, owing to the program design and inadequate funding. Our findings suggest that engaging technicians, landowners, and indigenous communities in discussions on how the structure of the PES program could be improved might allow for shared learning, improved institutional trust, and the design of more flexible contracts that would facilitate sustained conservation and improved social equity.
We conducted 32 in‐depth interviews with landowners, technicians, and government officials to attain insights into how the PES program in Salta province, Argentina, has performed in terms of motivating landowners to enroll in PES and ensuring their satisfaction with the program. Three main themes emerged from our analysis: (1) financial and non‐financial objectives motivate PES enrollment; (2) land title requirements, conflicts over user rights, and high transaction costs hinder enrollment in PES; and (3) PES fails to attain social equity or conservation outcomes Our findings provide insights into potential amendments to Argentina's PES program, which may improve the performance of the program.
Question: Does the proximity of shrubs affect seasonal water stress of young Austrocedrus chilensis trees (a native conifer of the Austral Temperate Forest of South America) in xeric sites? Location: ...A. chilensis xeric forest in northwest Patagonia, Argentina. Methods: We examined the dependence of predawn twig water potential on tree development (seedling to adult) and proximity to nurse shrubs during spring and summer. We analysed spatial associations of seedlings, saplings and adult trees with nurse shrubs, and also evaluated if trees affected shrub canopy vitality. Results: Water stress in Austrocedrus trees was affected by shrub presence. Small trees (i. e. < 0.5 m in height) growing in the open were most stressed, particularly in summer. Small trees growing within a shrub canopy had low water stress and little change between spring and summer. The opposite trend, however, was true for the medium-height category (i. e. 0.5-1.5 m in height); trees in this size category were more stressed when growing within the shrub canopy than in the open. Larger Austrocedrus trees (i. e.> 2m in height) were not affected by shrub presence. Austrocedrus trees were spatially associated with shrubs in all height classes; however, the percentage of living shrub canopy decreased with tree height. Conclusions: In xeric areas of northwest Patagonia, the strength and direction of interactions between A. chilensis and shrubs, in terms of tree water stress, are dynamic and modulated by tree size and environmental conditions. Overall, positive effects of shrubs on early developmental stages appear to be more important than subsequent negative interactions, since nursing effects could generate a spatial association of shrubs and Austrocedrus trees that persists through later successional stages. These findings shed light on mechanisms behind successional changes, and have important conservation and management implications.
The complexities of invasive alien species (IAS) management call for a close collaboration among stakeholders to codevelop and comanage actions to deliver effective solutions. To achieve this vision, ...iterative codesign and co‐implementation of solutions is imperative.
Based on a rapid Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats analysis (SWOT), we synthesised the positive and negative aspects of comanagement experiences for woody IAS management in Argentina. We included four case studies in protected areas: (i) Ligustrum lucidum in a periurban mountain forest; (ii) Rubus asp ulmifolius in a subtropical forest; (iii) Acacia melanoxylon in a temperate grassland; and (iv) Hedera helix in a temperate forest.
Universities, research institutes and protected areas led these management projects under varying economic, social and ecological objectives, and constrained by the availability of resources. However, these heterogeneous realities did not translate into significant differences in our comanagement experiences.
We identified personal motivations and pre‐existing funding for IAS management as key strengths for management actions. A relevant weakness was the ongoing undervaluation of applied research and stakeholder engagement in the Argentinian scientific system, resulting in a scarcity of research to inform management actions and a low interest in codesigning activities. Threats were related to the paucity of awareness and information on IAS management, and the lack of long‐term funding. Nevertheless, recent national‐level policies, such as the National Strategy for Exotic Invasive Species, together with the Forest Law for managing native forests and the mandate for the National Parks Administration to manage IAS, provide a unique opportunity to foster comanagement activities.
We recommend the development and promotion of spaces to share experiences and establish conversations among stakeholders. This should be complemented by a better alignment of disparate public policies driving IAS management in Argentina, and increased financial assistance to support local initiatives and reduce uncertainty in long‐term funding.
Resumen
Las complejidades de la gestión de especies exóticas invasoras (EEI) hacen necesaria una estrecha colaboración entre las partes interesadas para co‐desarrollar y co‐gestionar acciones para ofrecer soluciones efectivas. Para alcanzar esta visión, es imperativo el co‐diseño y la co‐implementación iterativa de soluciones.
Sintetizamos los aspectos positivos y negativos de experiencias de co‐gestión de EEI leñosas en Argentina utilizando un análisis rápido de Fortalezas, Debilidades, Oportunidades y Amenazas (FODA), basándonos en cuatro casos de co‐gestión en áreas protegidas: (i) Ligustrum lucidum en un bosque de montaña periurbano; (ii) Rubus asp ulmifolius en un bosque subtropical; (iii) Acacia melanoxylon en un pastizal templado; y (iv) Hedera helix en un bosque templado.
Universidades, centros de investigación y áreas protegidas lideraron los proyectos de gestión, con diversos objetivos ecológicos, sociales y económicos, y limitados por la disponibilidad de recursos. Sin embargo, esta heterogeneidad no se tradujo en diferencias significativas en las experiencias de co‐gestión.
Identificamos a las motivaciones personales y el financiamiento preexistente como fortalezas clave en la gestión de EEI. Una debilidad relevante fue la infravaloración por parte del sistema científico argentino de la investigación aplicada y de la interacción con actores y partes interesadas, lo que resulta en una escasez de estudios para apoyar acciones de gestión y un bajo interés en el co‐diseño de actividades. Las amenazas están vinculadas con la escasez de conciencia e información sobre la gestión de EEI y la falta de financiamiento a largo plazo. Sin embargo, recientes políticas a nivel nacional, tales como la Estrategia Nacional para Especies Exóticas Invasoras junto con la Ley de Bosques para la conservación y el manejo de bosques nativos y la obligación de la Administración de Parques Nacionales de gestionar las EEI, brindan una oportunidad única para fomentar actividades de co‐gestión.
Recomendamos desarrollar y promover espacios para compartir experiencias y establecer diálogos entre los actores y partes interesadas. Esto debería complementarse con una mejor alineación de las políticas públicas dispares que determinan la gestión de las EEI en Argentina, así como una mayor asistencia financiera para apoyar iniciativas locales y reducir la incertidumbre en el financiamiento a largo plazo.
The complexities of invasive alien species (IAS) management call for a close collaboration among stakeholders to comanage effective solutions. Based on a SWOT analysis, we identified personal motivations as the main force that helps to overcome barriers to to IAS comanagement in Argentina. We recommend the development of spaces to share experiences and establish conversations among stakeholders.
This study describes some characteristics of the Rubiaceae family pertaining to the occurrence and distribution of secondary metabolites in the main genera of this family. It reports the review of ...phytochemical studies addressing all species of Rubiaceae, published between 1990 and 2014. Iridoids, anthraquinones, triterpenes, indole alkaloids as well as other varying alkaloid subclasses, have shown to be the most common. These compounds have been mostly isolated from the genera Uncaria, Psychotria, Hedyotis, Ophiorrhiza and Morinda. The occurrence and distribution of iridoids, alkaloids and anthraquinones point out their chemotaxonomic correlation among tribes and subfamilies. From an evolutionary point of view, Rubioideae is the most ancient subfamily, followed by Ixoroideae and finally Cinchonoideae. The chemical biosynthetic pathway, which is not so specific in Rubioideae, can explain this and large amounts of both iridoids and indole alkaloids are produced. In Ixoroideae, the most active biosysthetic pathway is the one that produces iridoids; while in Cinchonoideae, it produces indole alkaloids together with other alkaloids. The chemical biosynthetic pathway now supports this botanical conclusion.
The objective of this study was to investigate patterns of surface features of leaves related to susceptibility to wetness for plants along a strong precipitation gradient. Leaf wettability and ...droplet retention were examined for leaves of 37 species (representing 28 families) occurring in steppe, ecotone, and temperate rain forest habitats along a steep moisture gradient in northwestern Patagonia, Argentina. Morphological and structural characteristics of leaves significantly affected leaf surface wetness, and these characteristics varied between habitats. Typically, leaves had more stomata on abaxial than adaxial leaf surfaces (
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). Droplet retention and leaf wettability (θ) were negatively correlated (Spearman
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;
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). Leaves in dry habitats tended to be less wettable and less likely to retain droplets on the leaf surface; however, overall differences were not significant. The presence of trichomes significantly reduced wettability (
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). The high frequency and natural variability of wetting events in these and a great variety of other habitats, coupled with the large range in surface wettability among plant species and the potentially strong effects on photosynthesis, growth, and pathogen infections, suggest an important evolutionary avenue related to the dynamics of water on leaf surfaces.
Many indigenous people hold detailed ecological knowledge about their environment and have developed complex classifications of ecosystem types in their own languages. These classification systems ...may be based on characteristics including the availability of key resources, salient plant species, and cultural factors, among others. Indigenous environmental knowledge has been of interest to (ethno-)ecologists, geographers, anthropologists, and other scientists looking to learn from indigenous people, especially in newly emerging research topics. We identified and interpreted an ecosystem classification system of the Urarina, a small indigenous nation based in the Chambira River basin, a peatland-rich area of Peruvian Amazonia. Our findings, based on semistructured interviews, participatory mapping exercises, and site visits, indicate that the Urarina distinguish between ecosystems according to vegetation physiognomy, certain (palm) tree species, hydrology, and soil appearance, and that their use of natural resources varies between different ecosystems. Two Urarina ecosystems, jiiri and alaka, are almost certainly associated with the presence of peat soils and are of special cultural significance. The Urarina ecosystem classification system thus offers insights and inspiration for ecologists studying peatlands and other wetlands in the Peruvian Amazon who, thus far, have mostly focused on floristic and structural analyses only. Not least, our research highlights the importance of the peatlands for local people, beyond their role for the global climate system as a substantial carbon store.
Vismia japurensis Reichardt is a plant of ecological and chemical importance from which a variety of bioactive substances have been isolated. The current study aimed to establish in vitro cultures of ...this species as a source of secondary metabolites. Appropriate decontamination treatments and germination tests were performed and, after in vitro culture establishment, the propagated plants were multiplied in a sterile environment to increase the biomass of available experimental material. Seeds showed low contamination and a high germination percentage on Woody Plant Medium (WPM) supplemented with gibberellic acid (both at concentrations of 5 and 10 mg/L). V. japurensis nodal segments rapidly regenerated when first grown in WPM and then transplanted to Murashige and Skoog medium (MS). After 60 days in MS medium, the propagated plants were removed, lyophilized, and extracted with hexane and methanol. The hexane extract was fractionated via open column chromatography, and the substance isolated was purified by high performance liquid chromatography. Structural determination of the isolated substance was carried out using one and two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectrometry. The isolated substance was identified as 1,8,10-trihydroxy-3,10-dimethyl-9(10H)-anthracenone, which, based on the conducted literature search, is reported for the first time.
In high-elevation communities of the southern Andes, plant cover is low due to severe environmental conditions and vegetation occurs mostly as isolated small (< 1 m2 patches. Most patches are ...dominated by flat cushion plants. We evaluated patterns of plant species co-occurrence and species affinity for patches with and without cushion plants and different species richness. We mapped and recorded species composition of patches occurring within two 20 m x 20 m plots at the NE slope of Cerro Chall-Huaco, Nahuel Huapi National Park, Argentina. In these plots, we identified 32 and 24 plant species, and a maximum of 15 and 12 species per patch, respectively. The community was characterized by positive associations between species. Patches in which either of the common cushion plants Mulinum leptacanthum and Oreopolus glacialis occurred sustained richer communities than patches in which they were absent. Patches dominated by different cushion plants did not differ in species composition, but species differed in their affinities for patches with different numbers of species. Because richness increased with patch size and patch size with time, differential affinities of plant species suggest that successional changes take place in the patches. Some small herbaceous species appear to act as late colonizers, mostly restricted to species-rich patches. Flat cushion plants are considered 'nurse plants'; they strongly modify micro-environmental conditions and allow establishment and survival of associated species.
Introducción y objetivos: Las prácticas de manejo de especies no-nativas e invasoras es tema prioritario en áreas protegidas, en especial en estadios tempranos de invasión, porque facilita la ...recuperación de sistemas nativos. Aquí presentamos una metodología para el control de una planta trepadora invasora, Hedera helix (Araliaceae).
M&M: Se realizó remoción manual y la disposición de los residuos se compostó en bolsas en el lugar. Luego se monitoreó la regeneración natural del bosque nativo. La propuesta incluye la convocatoria de voluntarios, enmarcados en un proyecto de investigación y extensión de la Universidad Nacional Comahue Bariloche con la colaboración de la Administración de Parques Nacionales.
Resultados: Desde 2019 participaron 47 voluntarios, se extrajeron 870 kg (peso húmedo) de material de cinco de los seis sitios identificados. Dos de los cinco sitios intervenidos se encuentran en la etapa de monitoreo de especies nativas.
Conclusión: La participación de voluntarios resultó efectiva en términos de las acciones de control manual, al estar los sitios controlados. De esta manera, se está logrando con éxito un mínimo impacto negativo sobre el entorno, al menos en las especies de plantas, evidenciado por una rápida recolonización pasiva de especies nativas y la eliminación la especie invasora en los sitios intervenidos. En particular, este modo de trabajo permite crear conciencia del problema de las invasiones biológicas en la comunidad y en futuros profesionales. También fortalece las relaciones entre instituciones vinculando la academia con la gestión en conservación, un aspecto a veces difícil de lograr.
Extracts made from the skin of dead Lithodytes lineatus frog individuals with the application of the benzocaine-based anesthetic gel, introduced into the oral cavity, were analyzed by 1H Nuclear ...Magnetic Resonance to investigate whether the application of this product (oral) can make studies that use extracts from the skins of these animals unfeasible. For comparison, we used skins of another species of anuran following the same death protocol. No trace of the benzocaine substance was found in the 1H-NMR spectra of the skin extracts from any of the tested anuran species. Still, using the hierarchical clustering model, it was possible to observe the formation of well-defined groups between the skin extracts of anurans and the anesthetic used to kill these animals. Our results suggest that the lethal dose of benzocaine in gel used inside the mouth of frogs may have no influence on potential results regarding the chemical composition or even bioassays using extracts made from the skin of these animals killed under this protocol since there was no detection of this substance for the analyzed samples.
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