Establishment of salicaceae in wetlands of Patagonia, Santa Cruz province

PERI P.L.

Anchorage, Alaska

Simposio; Fifth International Symposium on Cold Region Development (ISCORD); 1997

ISCORD

Poplars and willows include several species with great adaptability and wide habitat requirements. River valleys of southern Patagonia (Santa Cruz Province, Argentina) account only for 1,5% of  total area, but these highly productive ecosystems that show a high water table most of the year occupy in all about one millions hectares. Their soils have originated from different materials, and differ mainly in pH and organic matter content. Wetland foresting is an atractive way of  diversifying farm production, because trees offer protection against cold and dry winds, increasing crop productivity, and can also provide wood products. The only previous foresting experience in this Province is the introduction of poplars and willows to provide wind barriers  in farms. The most used clones belong to Aigeiros section, mainly Populus nigra cv italica, the Salix fragilis and some clones of Populus deltoides. These introductions haven´t been done in wetlands. The objective of this work was to evaluate the potential of foresting in different wetlands with salicaceae species.