Preliminary assessment of the conservation status of timber species in the threatened piedmont dry forest of northwestern Argentina

Abstract

The piedmont dry forest of northwestern Argentina has been under intensive and unplanned forest logging focused on 12 tree species, without any attempts having been made to ensure their regeneration or long-term conservation. In this study, we assessed the conservation status of these timber species in the piedmont dry forest of northwestern Argentina and compared our results with the IUCN assessment. We considered an inadequate conservation status if the species: (1) occurred in less than 50 % of the sampled plots, (2) had a density of large trees (more than 40 cm DBH) lower than one in. ha−1, or (3) had a density of saplings (more than 30 cm in height and less than 9.9 cm in DBH) lower than 30 in. ha−1. Our results showed an inadequate conservation status for eight of the 12 studied timber tree species. Additionally, only seven species were previously assessed and categorized on the IUCN Red List, with our categorization agreeing with only four of them. The data provided in this work can serve as a baseline to monitor the population trends of these species; information can also help to prioritize conservation efforts, which is essential considering the high number of tree species that have potential extinction risk in the short-term.