Potential impacts of petroleum exploration and exploitation in a natural reserve of argentinian Patagonia.

FIORI, S. M.; ZALBA, S. M.

BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION

Kluwer Academic Publishers

Lugar: The Netherlands.; Año: 2003 vol. 12 p. 1261 - 1270

0960-3115

Petroleum exploration and extraction are common on the Patagonian steppe, but their impacts on the native biodiversity have not been properly evaluated. We have described both activities in a Patagonian nature reserve and considered their potential impacts on biodiversity. More than 2025 km of seismic lines inside the reserve resulted in 87.21 (0,9%) of directly affected land, and 793 fragments of native habitats were defined with a mean area of 1.26±0.74 km. Vegetation recovery on seismic lines is extremely poor. We discuss the role of seismic lines as barriers to native species, and their significance in encouraging poaching and the expansion of exotic invasive plants. There is a high degree of overlap between current petroleum activities and areas of special conservation concern (high erosion risk, vegetation diversity, abundance of endemic plant species, and habitat quality for native vertebrates). All these impact significantly on the efficiency of the conservation area and highlight the urgent need to implement appropriate mitigating actions.