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Rasgos-CL: A functional trait database of Chilean woody plants
Due to language and networking barriers, global initiatives to compile trait data often fail to integrate data from sources in non-English languages or scientists that largely speak and write in non-English languages. To illustrate the potential for regional databases to fill gaps in trait data, and how such databases may fill critical gaps in global biodiversity databases, we built the Rasgos-CL Database. Rasgos-CL provides a comprehensive set of plant traits for the woody flora of Chile by mobilizing and standardizing unstructured data largely from the Spanish-language literature. We quantified the gains in trait coverage compared to global trait databases and identified phylogenetic and geographic biases of trait data gaps. Rasgos-CL contains 25,174 trait records, including 2 continuous and 21 categorical traits for 662 woody species.
Alfaro, Elías-Pérez Tello, Valentina-Acevedo Tapia, Manuel-Ovalle, Juan F.-Segovia, Ricardo-Craven, Dylan
2023
Major bottlenecks for the restoration of natural forests in Chile
International agreements combined with the recent Chilean Forestry Policy (2015–2035) represent a challenge and an opportunity for forest landscape restoration in Chile. Nevertheless, restoring over 500,000 ha using mainly native species seems like a daunting task by 2035. Here, we discuss the three major bottlenecks that currently constrain the restoration efforts of forest ecosystems in Chile. First, Chile urgently needs a national strategic plan for forest landscape restoration, which should take into account mid- and long-term goals. There is also a need to prioritize resource allocation for efficient use, promoting the creation of economic subsidies for restoration that consider different types of forest ecosystems. Second, there is a great need for better nursery protocols in plant production as well as to strengthen educational programs for professional and technical training, given the lack of high-quality personnel in Chilean nurseries. This would help increase the currently limited national plant supply, improving quality and increasing the diversity of native species suitable for forest restoration. Lastly, taking advantage of novel eco-technological tools and promoting innovative plantation design would help to overcome the usually deficient results in the establishment phase, leading to higher survival rates and promoting better performance of native species. Beyond current experiments that are relatively efficient on a small spatial scale, the practice of forest restoration needs to become massive and successful at a landscape scale. More and better applied research is crucial for improving the impact of forest landscape restoration, so that Chile can achieve its forest restoration challenge in the next decade.
Bannister, Jan R.-Vargas-Gaete, Rodrigo-Ovalle, Juan F.-Acevedo Tapia, Manuel-Fuentes-Ramírez, Andrés-Donoso, Pablo J.-Promis, Alvaro-Smith-Ramírez, Cecilia
2018
Nitrogen loading of Eucalyptus globulus seedlings: nutritional dynamics and influence on morphology and root growth potential
Achieving successful outplanting of trees on increasingly harsher sites is a global concern. In Chile, for example, new Eucalyptus globulus plantations are being targeted to poorer, low fertility sites where additional stresses often negatively affect seedling performance during the first field season. Nitrogen-loading during the later stages of nursery production can, however, significantly improve seedling physiological performance on harsher sites by increasing plant growth and nutrient storage reserves for subsequent root growth after outplanting. Maximizing these benefits, and applying the concept of loading throughout the entire crop cycle, requires a better understanding of nitrogen (N) dynamics. Thus, for container E. globulus, considered one of the most important plantation species worldwide, we evaluated the effects of increasing N supply (50 to 600 mg N L−1) on seedling morphological traits, biomass production, root growth potential, and foliar N. After 15 weeks of N application, seedlings showed an increase in all growth variables evaluated up to 300 mg N L−1, whereas higher rates allowed luxury consumption. Modeling growth responses revealed, however, an apparent ammonium antagonism with other macronutrient cations suggests that high rates of this N-form may negate the potential benefits of N-loading, or that other modifications to the fertilizer solution may promote additional growth at higher N rates. Foliar N concentration, which was easily and accurately measured with a leaf chlorophyll meter, showed a gradient from basal to apical leaves suggesting a strong translocation of N in E. globulus seedlings. Our results suggest nursery management that supplies 300 mg L−1 of N through the entire growing season could improve seedling nutritional status, morphological attributes, and growth of new roots, attributes that may improve establishment on low fertility sites.
Acevedo Tapia, Manuel-Rubilar, Rafael-Dumroese, R. Kasten-Ovalle, Juan F.-Sandoval, Simón-Chassin-Trubert Fuentealba, Rodrigo Andrés
2020

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