lnternational boundaries as experiments to understand territorial changes in SA

MARÍA PIQUER-RODRÍGUEZ; IGNACIO GASPARRI ; LUCÍA ZARBÁ; EZEQUIEL ARAOZ; RICARDO GRAU

Tucumán

Congreso; Reunión Argentina de Ecología; 2021

Asociación argentina de ecología

The landscape configuration of socio-ecological land systems results from the interaction between theenvironmental conditions (relatively homogeneous within ecoregions) and country-lev el land-use decisionsand management. However, social, land-use and sustainability research disciplines often study each entityindependently. We explored the geographical patterns of human induced asymmetries in land systems oftrans-national ecoregions in South America. The most asymmetric borders occurred in the tropical rainforest biome which also showed the widest range of asymmetries among ecoregions. In contrast, montanegrasslands showed comparatively little asymmetries, while tropical dry forests showed intermediatedifferences. Our results support two general hypotheses: (1) that major asymmetries occur in developingland systems located in productive biomes with a comparatively recent history of land development,w hereas mature socio-ecosystems with a long history of human land use are more homogeneous acrossborders; and (2) land system asymmetries across borders may be transient conditions reflecting differentstages of national economic development, but in sorne cases they may stabilize as a consequences ofreinforcing feedbacks: government decisions (e.g. reflected in the establishment of protected areas or thedevelopment of road systems) can play a big role in shaping transnational asymmetries. Rigorousassessment of t hese hypotheses and their underlying mechanisms is important for defining the role andpotential socio-ecological impacts of national policies in defining the spatial configuration and ecologicalproperties of ecoregions. We invite land-use and sustainability scientists to consider political borderinteractions in their studies in arder to achieve a holistic understanding of land systems.