Abstract
Facing rapid loss of biodiversity as a consequence of climate change, Chile has formally pledged to restore 600,000 ha of native forest by 2035. This effort, however, has not considered the amount and quality of native plants required to meet this pledge. Thus, we examined data collected during the annual, government-conducted census of small- and medium-sized nurseries from central Chile, which account for 78% of the nation’s total plant production, to assess if current production is sufficient to meet Chile´s restoration needs. We coupled this with data collected during our series of ongoing research projects to determine if nurseries are currently meeting minimum seedling quality standards based on morpho-physiological attributes. Our four-year analysis (2016–2019) shows that the number of native seedlings has increased by only 4%, but because only 19% of nursery managers have training, just 29% of all seedlings meet quality criteria for restoration. Thus, under the current rate and quality of plant production, meeting restoration pledges desired by the year 2035 would not be achieved until 2181. This timeline can be accelerated through an urgent expansion of nursery space, implementation of a continuous program for technology and knowledge transference, and strong support through governmental policies.
Highlights
The severity of climate change has increased the pace of loss of biodiversity and the rise in CO2 emissions [1]
York Declaration of Forests aim to restore 350 million ha worldwide by 2030. This has led different countries to outline their commitments to forest restoration, prioritizing the conservation and restoration of remaining natural ecosystems [4]
We leveraged the census data with data and observations obtained through several research and technology transfer projects led by our Centro Tecnológico de la Planta Forestal (CTPF; Technology Center for Forest Plants) program within the Chilean
Summary
The severity of climate change has increased the pace of loss of biodiversity and the rise in CO2 emissions [1]. York Declaration of Forests aim to restore 350 million ha worldwide by 2030 This has led different countries to outline their commitments to forest restoration, prioritizing the conservation and restoration of remaining natural ecosystems [4]. One such priority area is the central–southern portion of Chile, where a high level of endemism of Chilean native species has led to this region’s classification as one of the 35 global hotspots of biodiversity for ecological conservation (Figure 1A,B) [5,6,7]. As part of the Paris Agreement of 2015 (COP21), Chile vows “To afforest 100,000 ha mainly with native species” by 2030; these restored ha have the potential to sequester between 900,000 and 1,200,000 t of CO2 annually [8]
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