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Current Trends in Forestry Research of Latin-America (CONFLAT Congress, Argentina)

This is an article collection published in Ecological Processes.

Edited by: Guillermo Martinez Pastur, Fidel Alejandro Roig

Native forests and plantations occupy a central role in the discussion of the international policy agenda during the last decades. Policy discussions centre on the role of forests in addressing the global challenges for economic development and the effects of climate change and biodiversity loss on ecosystem services provision. Millions of people in Latin America live near forests and trees in rural areas worldwide, with many relying on these resources for their livelihoods. In this context, the implications of the commitments that governments have made for livelihoods and wellbeing are not totally defined. In this context, scientific research can bring solutions and new proposals to help for new policy proposals. 

Mendoza city (Argentina) hosted the VIII Latin American Forestry Congress (CONFLAT) and the V Forestry Congress of Argentina (CFA) in 2023, where relevant issues were addressed, such as climate change, degradation, reforestation, management and forest industry, monitoring, environmental services, social issues, and governance, among others. 

The objective of this Special Issue was to present the main advances in Forestry Science for Latin-America in the context of changing governance and forest livelihoods for people. The fifteen articles emphasize the interdisciplinary nature of the forest management and conservation, and that multiple variables must be considered to achieve sustainability. The articles come from studies across Southern South-America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay), and the collaboration of researchers of other countries (México, Canada, and Spain). Articles include research in tropical, Mediterranean and temperate Sub-Antarctic forests. Together, these articles provide a snapshot of new forestry research carried out locally and internationally to bring about beneficial ecological and environmental outcomes in a world facing the challenges of sustainable management and conservation amongst the threats and uncertainty of climate change and environmental degradation responsible for extensive loss of biodiversity and environmental services. We believe that this Special Issue will encourage more inter-disciplinary research focusing on management and conservation of forests.

Published articles in this collection

  1. What factors, processes and mechanisms regulate invasive processes and their effects? This is one of the main questions addressed by the ecology of biological invasions. Ligustrum lucidum, a tree species native t...

    Authors: Alejandro Brazeiro, Juan Olivera, Alejandra Betancourt, Ignacio Lado, David Romero, Federico Haretche and Alexandra Cravino
    Citation: Ecological Processes 2024 13:49
  2. Dehydration of plant tissues caused by water stress affects the dynamics of the lateral cambium, the rate of cell division and differentiation in cell lumen size, wall thickness and wall chemical properties. B...

    Authors: Sofía Papú, Daigard Ricardo Ortega-Rodriguez, Fidel Alejandro Roig and Florencia Navas
    Citation: Ecological Processes 2024 13:45
  3. The Rio de la Plata grassland region is dominated by temperate grasslands, with the scarce natural forests, influenced floristically by adjacent biogeographical provinces. Uruguay represents the southern limit...

    Authors: Carolina Toranza, Juan Andrés Martínez-Lanfranco, Federico Haretche and Alejandro Brazeiro
    Citation: Ecological Processes 2024 13:42
  4. Deciphering the genetic architecture of drought tolerance could allow the candidate genes identification responding to water stress. In the Andean Patagonian forest, the genus Nothofagus represents an ecologicall...

    Authors: Rita Maria Lopez Laphitz, María Verónica Arana, Santiago Agustín Varela, Leandro Aníbal Becker, Carolina Soliani, María Marta Azpilicueta, Paula Marchelli and Nicolás Bellora
    Citation: Ecological Processes 2024 13:34
  5. Tree regeneration is a key component of resilience because it promotes post-disturbance recovery of forests. Northwestern Patagonia from Argentina is occupied by Nothofagus alpina (Na), N. obliqua (No), and N. do...

    Authors: Georgina Sola, Camila Mateo, Alejandro Dezzotti, Paula Marchelli, Hernán Attis Beltrán, Renato Sbrancia, Luis Chauchard, Marcelo González Peñalba, Martín Lara and Verónica El Mujtar
    Citation: Ecological Processes 2024 13:28
  6. Recent changes in climatic trends are resulting in an increased frequency and intensity of extreme events, with unknown effect on ecosystem dynamics in the near future. Extreme drought episodes are recognized ...

    Authors: Sergio Piraino, Martín Ariel Hadad, Yanina Antonia Ribas‑Fernández and Fidel Alejandro Roig
    Citation: Ecological Processes 2024 13:24
  7. In ambrosia and bark beetles–fungi interaction, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) play a central role in mediating various aspects of community dynamics of beetles and/or fungi. These functions include facilit...

    Authors: Esteban D. Ceriani-Nakamurakare, Mariel Slodowicz, Cecilia Carmarán and Paola Gonzalez-Audino
    Citation: Ecological Processes 2024 13:21
  8. Araucaria araucana is a mast species that presents a high variability in annual cone production. Researchers have recorded synchronization events in cone production in different populations, which allows the seed...

    Authors: Sergio Donoso, Karen Peña-Rojas, Claudia Espinoza, Carolain Badaracco, Rómulo Santelices-Moya and Antonio Cabrera-Ariza
    Citation: Ecological Processes 2024 13:19
  9. Treeline ecotones of Mediterranean ecoregions have been affected by the increasing intensity and severity of droughts. Even though the effect of droughts on forest dynamics has been widely documented, knowledg...

    Authors: Luiz Santini Jr., Dylan Craven, Daigard Ricardo Ortega Rodriguez, Manolo Trindade Quintilhan, Stephanie Gibson-Carpintero, Cristina Aravena Torres, Fidel A. Roig, Ariel A. Muñoz and Alejandro Venegas-Gonzalez
    Citation: Ecological Processes 2024 13:10
  10. Forest ecosystems undergo significant transformations due to harvesting and climate fluctuations, emphasizing the critical role of seeding in natural regeneration and long-term structural preservation. Climate...

    Authors: Julian Rodríguez-Souilla, Jimena E. Chaves, María Vanessa Lencinas, Juan Manuel Cellini, Fidel A. Roig, Pablo L. Peri and Guillermo Martinez Pastur
    Citation: Ecological Processes 2024 13:7
  11. Natural and anthropogenic wildfires burn large areas of arid and semi-arid forests with significant socio-economic and environmental impacts. Fire regimes are controlled by climate, vegetation type, and anthro...

    Authors: Pablo Eugenio Villagra, Erica Cesca, Leandro Manuel Alvarez, Silvia Delgado and Ricardo Villalba
    Citation: Ecological Processes 2024 13:5
  12. Stone pine (Pinus pinea), a drought-resistant species, has significant socio-economic benefits and increasing interest for the establishment of productive plantations in several countries, especially in a climate...

    Authors: Verónica Loewe-Muñoz, Rodrigo del Río Millar, Claudia Delard Rodriguez and Mónica Balzarini
    Citation: Ecological Processes 2024 13:2
  13. The nationally determined contribution (NDC) presented by Argentina within the framework of the Paris Agreement is aligned with the decisions made in the context of the United Nations Framework Convention on C...

    Authors: Pablo L. Peri, Juan Gaitán, Matías Mastrangelo, Marcelo Nosetto, Pablo E. Villagra, Ezequiel Balducci, Martín Pinazo, Roxana P. Eclesia, Alejandra Von Wallis, Sebastián Villarino, Francisco Alaggia, Marina González Polo, Silvina Manrique, Pablo A. Meglioli, Julián Rodríguez-Souilla, Martín Mónaco…
    Citation: Ecological Processes 2024 13:1
  14. The conversion of forests into agricultural lands can be a threat because the forests carbon stored could be a source of emissions. The capacity to improve the predictions on the consequences of land use chang...

    Authors: Silvana María José Sione, Marcelo Germán Wilson, Silvia Gabriela Ledesma, Emmanuel Adrián Gabioud, José Daniel Oszust and Leandro Javier Rosenberger
    Citation: Ecological Processes 2023 12:64
  15. The increase in the frequency and intensity of droughts is pointed out as one of the main factors altering biogeochemical cycles in the Amazon basin. An eco-nutritional approach using X-ray fluorescence micro-...

    Authors: Daigard R. Ortega Rodriguez, Raúl Sánchez-Salguero, Andrea Hevia, Renata C. Bovi, Marciel J. Ferreira, James H. Speer, Fidel A. Roig and Mario Tomazello-Filho
    Citation: Ecological Processes 2023 12:58