CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

The cool temperate forest of Southern Patagonia (Santa Cruz and Tierra del Fuego provinces, Argentina) is dominated by deciduous Nothofagus pumilio and N. antarctica species, covering 1.05 million hectares. However, 3% of these native forest areas are irreversibly degraded by the combination of fire with animal grazing with new vegetative cover of shrub or grassland often dominated by exotic species that inhibit germination and establishment of Nothofagus seedlings. Therefore, to accelerate the recovery of these Nothofagus forest, active rehabilitation is required. National and Provincial governments have been promoted restoration plans with native species in degraded areas to restore environmental services (C02 fixation, clear water, biodiversity, landscape and recreation) and to sustain local labour from timber industries. On the other hand, the steppe ecosystem, mainly characterised by the presence of tussock (Festuca spp.), Poa spp. and shrubs, covers 85% of the total area in Patagonia. The main activities in this environment are extensive sheep production, petroleum and mining (gold, silver, clay, coal) where soil and vegetation degradation has occurred from a combination of overgrazing and drought, oil contamination and soil destruction from opencast mining, with more than 7 million hectares degraded. In this context, companies are compelled to restore the exploited areas and to develop monitoring programs to test the effectiveness of the restoration treatments such as bioremediation. Effective restoration projects are needed to strengthen Government capacity to assess and mitigate environmental risks associated with overgrazed sites, closed mines, oil overflow, processing sites, and to reduce potential economic and health damages.

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