Rainforest Conservation Research Articles

Gaming conservation: Nature 2.0 confronts nature-deficit disorder

This article explores the role of digital (video and computer) games in the rise of what Büscher (2014) calls “nature 2.0”: new web-related media that allow users to move beyond passive voyeurism to actively “co-create” or “prosume” the images and processes promoted by organizations committed to biodiversity conservation. Environmentalists have long expressed concern that increasing mediation of human–nonhuman interactions by electronic technology is contributing to a growing “nature-deficit disorder” (NDD) and thereby diminishing support for conservation. This concern would seem to implicate the electronic media comprising nature 2.0 as well, yet digital games are increasingly promoted by environmental organizations precisely for their potential to overcome this very problem. In this paper, I explore to what extent this aspiration is warranted by analyzing digital games devoted to issues of tropical rainforest conservation. In support of proponents’ aspirations and contra the NDD thesis, I suggest that the virtual nature experiences digital games provide may at times actually inspire more affective commitment to environmental causes than the direct experiences most conservationists advocate. On the other hand, as critics of overarching new media assert, engagement with digital games can create a false sense of agency in that belief in the efficacy of one’s virtual engagement may discourage more direct entanglement in the complicated and contentious politics of “real” natural resource management. The result, I propose, is a likelihood that digital games will increase the widely documented “environmental values-behavior gap” between professed commitment to environmental causes and effective action in support of such causes.

Frontier of Tropical Rainforest Conservation

Frontier of Tropical Rainforest Conservation

Practitioner perspective on REDD: Commercial challenges in project‐based rainforest protection financing in the Asia Pacific region

AbstractThis paper presents a practitioner perspective on community‐based REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation) projects in the Pacific Islands. It draws upon the author's experience in forest conservation financing since 1987, and REDD project and programme design, development and implementation since 2006. The aim is to highlight the commercial challenges faced by REDD practitioners, and explore strategic (including policy) solutions to meet these challenges. The paper begins by situating REDD as a tool for forest conservation and community development. Following a brief overview of the key elements of REDD project development procedures, the paper examines commercial (particularly market access) challenges faced by project proponents, together with challenges associated with the supply and demand dynamic for REDD credits in the global carbon market. This is situated against a backdrop of global policy stagnation in the REDD sector and the implications of this for those at the frontier of community‐based forest protection efforts on the ground. The paper culminates by showing the importance of an effective partnership between governments, rainforest communities and the private sector in regional and global rainforest conservation financing.

Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Frugivorous Hornbill Movements in Central Africa and their Implications for Rain Forest Conservation

AbstractTropical forest conservation and restoration require an understanding of the movements and habitat preferences of important seed dispersers. With forests now being altered at an unprecedented rate, avian frugivores are becoming increasingly vital for forest regeneration. Seed movement, however, is highly dependent on the behavioral characteristics of their dispersers. Here, we examined the movements, habitat preferences, and range sizes of two African frugivores: the Black‐casqued (Ceratogymna atrata) and the White‐thighed (Bycanistes albotibialis) Hornbill, in the lowland rain forests of southern Cameroon. Using satellite transmitters, we tracked eight hornbills for 3 yr to characterize their movements and relate them to environmental landscape features. Hornbill movements differed significantly, with B. albotibialis ranging over larger areas (mean = 20,274 ha) than C. atrata (mean = 5604 ha), and females of both species covering over 15 times the area of males. Evidence suggests that movements are irruptive during particular periods, perhaps driven by low resource availability. In addition, hornbills often returned to the same localities within a year, although movements were not characterized as migratory. Both species displayed significant differences in habitat preference, with B. albotibialis utilizing disturbed habitat more frequently than C. atrata (t = −22.04, P = 2.2 × 10−16). Major roads were found to act as barriers for C. atrata, but not for B. albotibialis. The ability of both hornbill species to move large distances suggests hornbills will play a vital role in the maintenance and regeneration of rain forests in Central Africa as forest fragmentation increases and terrestrial vertebrates decline in numbers.

Islands of Governmentality: Rainforest Conservation, Indigenous Rights, and the Territorial Reconfiguration of Guyanese Sovereignty

Contemporary scholarship increasingly emphasizes that modern state sovereignty does not depend on the control of a strictly bounded and uniformly governed territory. Rather, authority now stems from a variety of different actors, within and external to states, who enact shared forms of power over different areas of national territory for different objectives. In Guyana, contemporary expressions of neoliberal governmentality, environmental conservation and the recognition of indigenous peoples’ rights, have recently emerged as alternative forms of territorial authority in the country's interior rainforest—an area that has historically posed challenges to steady state control. We outline the history and configuration of these territorial ‘islands', demonstrating the ways in which their diverse sources of authority articulate and overlap with—and often contradict—each other, thereby emphasizing that these processes are intrinsic to the very constitution, expansion, and legitimacy of modern state power. This paper contributes to understandings of the territorial reconfiguration of sovereignty in English-speaking South America.

Revisiting crisis, change and institutions in the tropical forests: The multifunctional transition in Australia's Wet Tropics

Environmental management has progressed from a tenure-based process, where each tenure is established for a single purpose, to one that considers multiple, often conflicting, uses across multiple tenures at the landscape scale. Here we consider the history of management, contestation and conservation of humid tropical rainforests of north-east Australia, Australia's Wet Tropics, and investigate the unfolding expression of new and diverse values attached to the region. We show that i) for environmental managers, the task of understanding and giving expression to diverse human values attached to environmental resources is an on-going, complex and transdisciplinary task, ii) there is no ‘moment’ when a landscape, and the human values which make it legible, are ‘secured’, and iii) by locating dynamic social values as central to the project of environmental (or in this case, forest) management, we begin to understand managing for concurrent values as a central challenge for contemporary natural resource management. Three examples of multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches to forest management for concurrence are examined: 1) managing the diverse impacts of rainforest tourism, 2) managing competing demands on a rapidly changing coastal community, and 3) bridging the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous indicators of forest condition. Our analysis supports the current theory of nested adaptive policy cycles that change in response to exogenous factors, rather than the Multi-Level Perspective which attributes causality to endogenous forces. We suggest that 21st Century environmental problems such as climate change and biodiversity loss will lead to further major social transformations and the path generation to increasing complexity will continue.

Tropical rain forest conservation and the twin challenges of diversity and rarity

Data from a global network of large, permanent plots in lowland tropical forests demonstrate (1) that the phenomenon of tropical tree rarity is real and (2) that almost all the species diversity in such forests is due to rare species. Theoretical and empirically based reasoning suggests that many of these rare species are not as geographically widespread as previously thought. These findings suggest that successful strategies for conserving global tree diversity in lowland tropical forests must pay much more attention to the biogeography of rarity, as well as to the impact of climate change on the distribution and abundance of rare species. Because the biogeography of many tropical tree species is poorly known, a high priority should be given to documenting the distribution and abundance of rare tropical tree species, particularly in Amazonia, the largest remaining tropical forested region in the world.

More than just trees – animal species diversity and participatory forest monitoring in the Ecuadorian Amazon

The gradual disappearance of tropical animal species due to overhunting and habitat loss represents a major risk for biodiversity and tropical rainforest conservation efforts. Uncontrolled hunting and other human-induced declines in diversity and abundance of seed-dispersing animal species might also negatively affect biomass carbon storage, which could undermine climate change mitigation efforts. We study how the Ecuadorian Socio Bosque conservation incentive programme [Programa Socio Bosque – PSB] addresses animal species conservation and engages with local communities. Drawing on official documents, as well as interviews and observations in four indigenous communities that participate in PSB, we discuss the role of local participation in conservation monitoring. The PSB's incentive and control approach has to some extent supported the establishment and financing of forest monitoring systems in indigenous communities. However, we argue that PSB in its current design exerts a conservation gap because it does not include animal species diversity and abundance as important components for successful long-term forest conservation. Supporting a bottom-up participatory monitoring methodology for locally-based conservation action can increase the existing positive conservation attitudes among community members. We provide specific examples of how animal species conservation and participatory monitoring can be combined and carried out.

Serpentes de um fragmento urbano de Mata Atlântica: sobrevivendo ao concreto

Although researches on richness, composition and conservation of Atlantic rainforest’s herpetofauna have focused on large and protected areas, small fragments subject to human interference are important to maintain α-diversity, as they often constitute the only relictual areas with favorable habitats for those species within the cities. In this paper, we report the richness and composition of snakes from a small urbanized area in the Universidade Federal da Bahia (UFBA), in the city of Salvador, state of Bahia, focusing on its conservation. We also propose hypotheses to explain the mechanisms that would facilitate the coexistence of these species, even in the face of an intense fragmentation process. The list of species here presented was based on the registers from the Museu de Zoologia of UFBA and the register book of the “Núcleo Regional de Ofiologia e Animais Peçonhentos da Bahia” (1987–2012). Based on the literature, each taxon was characterized with respect to habitat use, substrate, activity patterns and food habits. Nine species, belonging to the families Boidae (Boa constrictor) and Colubridae (Helicops leopardinus, Liophis almadensis, L. miliaris, L. taeniogaster, Oxyrhopus trigeminus, Philodryas olfersii, Sibynomorphus neuwiedi and Tantilla melanocephala), were registered. A comparative analysis of data from habitat and activity patterns of the species studied suggests that the coexistence of nine taxa in such fragment may be related to different combinations of substrate use and diet. Liophis almadensis (jararaquinha-false) and B. constrictor (python) showed higher relative abundance and were the only species recorded from 2010–2012, suggesting that part of the herpetofauna reported over the last 14 years may be locally extinct. This observation is even more critical because this period coincides with the suppression of almost all remaining fragments of Atlantic forest in the study area for university modernization and expansion.Additional key words: Bahia, conservation, local extinction, snakes, UFBA.

The oil palm SHELL gene controls oil yield and encodes a homologue of SEEDSTICK

A key event in the domestication and breeding of the oil palm, Elaeis guineensis, was loss of the thick coconut-like shell surrounding the kernel. Modern E. guineensis has three fruit forms, dura (thick-shelled), pisifera (shell-less) and tenera (thin-shelled), a hybrid between dura and pisifera1–4. The pisifera palm is usually female-sterile but the tenera yields far more oil than dura, and is the basis for commercial palm oil production in all of Southeast Asia5. Here, we describe the mapping and identification of the Shell gene responsible for the different fruit forms. Using homozygosity mapping by sequencing we found two independent mutations in the DNA binding domain of a homologue of the MADS-box gene SEEDSTICK (STK) which controls ovule identity and seed development in Arabidopsis. The Shell gene is responsible for the tenera phenotype in both cultivated and wild palms from sub-Saharan Africa, and our findings provide a genetic explanation for the single gene heterosis attributed to Shell, via heterodimerization. This gene mutation explains the single most important economic trait in oil palm, and has implications for the competing interests of global edible oil production, biofuels and rainforest conservation6.

Seed and Seedling Ecophysiology of Neotropical Melastomataceae: Implications for Conservation and Restoration of Savannas and Rainforests1

We review the patterns of fruit maturation, dispersal, germination, seed bank formation, and seedling establishment of the Melastomataceae in two Neotropical biodiversity hotspots, the Brazilian cerrado and the Atlantic rainforest. Studies on seed biology of the Melastomataceae are relevant because this family is ubiquitous, species-rich, and dominant in these two hotspots, and its increased relative importance is anticipated under the current scenario of habitat loss and forest fragmentation. The life-history traits of this pioneer-dominated family are quite variable in terms of fruiting phenology and seedling establishment, but less so for dispersal ecology and seed germination. Our knowledge of this seed biology is used to infer on the predicted impacts of global change and forest fragmentation for tropical forest and cerrado melastomes. Species in the Melastomataceae may be key in restoration ecology, and we discuss how seed- and seedling-based restoration techniques can assist ecosystem recovery.Revisamos los patrones de maturación de frutos, dispersión, germinación, banco de semillas y establecimiento de plantas de Melastomataceae en dos hotspots debiodiversdad, el cerrado y la Mata Atlántica. Estudios de semillas de Melastomataceae son importantes porque la familia presenta alta diversidad y es dominante en un gran rango de hábitats. Además, resulta que la familia tiene prevista su importancia aumentada en escenarios de fragmentación de bosques. Las características de história de vida de esta familia de plantas pioneras es muy variable con respecto a la fenología reproductiva y establecimiento de plántulas, pero no tanto con respecto a la ecología de dispersión de semillas y germinación. La biología de semillas embasa la discusión sobre los impactos de los cambios globales y fragmentación de bosques en Melastomataceae de sabanas y bosques tropicales. Especies de Melastomataceae pueden ser claves para la ecología de la restauración y discutimos como las técnicas de restauración basadas en semillas y plántulas pueden ayudar en la restauración.

Elephant damage and tree response in restored parts of Kibale National Park, Uganda

Elephant tree damage is a key factor in conservation and restoration efforts of African rain forests. This study was conducted between June 2009 and February 2010 to examine elephant damage and tree response in restored parts of Kibale National Park, a rain forest in Uganda. First gazetted as Forest Reserve in 1932, the area had its southern block settled and degraded through human utilization between 1970 and 1987. In 1992, the government of Uganda relocated the settled people and embarked on a restoration process. Whereas, trees such as Ficus species exhibited high coping abilities to elephant damage through re-sprouting, coppicing and bark recovery; Prunus Africana struggled because it is highly preferred by elephant for feeding and is also demanded by humans. Whereas, options that can minimize elephant damage through selective planting of less desired species may be successful, these will deflect the problem of elephant damage to local farmers through experiences of increased crop raiding as the animals search for preferred forage. A more accommodative approach that includes desirable species which can cope with damage; and the protection of endangered species that happen to be desired by both humans and elephant may be more rewarding. Key words: Elephants, tree damage, restoration, crop raiding, tropical forest.

Diversity of fruit fly (Diptera: Tephritidae) species in French Guiana: their main host plants and associated parasitoids during the period 1994–2003 and prospects for management

Introduction. This study was carried out in French Guiana, over ten years (1994–2003) by three institutions (SPV, FDGPC and CIRAD); it updates the current state of knowledge of Tephritidae (both Dacini and Toxotrypanini tribes) species present in this country. Materials and methods. The work was mainly conducted in inhabited areas (from the Brazilian border to the Surinamese border) where cultivated fruit crops are located. Specimens were obtained by adult trapping and fruit sampling in nearby orchards and at the edge of the rainforest. Trapping was done consistently for 10 years, while fruit sampling was a discontinuous activity. We present only the results for fruit sampling from three consecutive years (2001–2003) in which a total of 880 kg from 45 fruit species in 22 plant families were collected. Results. Twenty-nine plant species from fourteen plant families were found to be hosts of twenty-one Anastrepha species and one Bactrocera species, Bactrocera carambolae Drew and Hancock. During this period, no specimen of Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) was collected in traps or fruit samples. We registered the main fruit trees which were hosts for B. carambolae and Anastrepha spp. Five hymenopterous parasitoid species were identified. Among them, Diachasmimorpha longicaudata (Ashmead) (Hymenoptera, Braconidae) is an exotic species and was introduced into French Guiana in collaboration with Brazilian authorities (EMBRAPA) in 2000 and 2001 within the framework of a classical biological control program. Conclusion. Our data provide baseline information about the tephritid species of economic importance present in French Guiana and assist in developing potential future control programs of both the B. carambolae and Anastrepha species in the Amazon Basin. These preliminary results are discussed in the light of their implication for rainforest conservation efforts and also evolutionary relationships between fruit flies and their hosts. (Resume d'auteur)

Frugivory and Seed Dispersal by Northern Pigtailed Macaques (Macaca leonina), in Thailand

Tropical rain forest conservation requires a good understanding of plant–animal interactions. Seed dispersal provides a means for plant seeds to escape competition and density-dependent seed predators and pathogens and to colonize new habitats. This makes the role and effectiveness of frugivorous species in the seed dispersal process an important topic. Northern pigtailed macaques (Macaca leonina) may be effective seed dispersers because they have a diverse diet and process seeds in several ways (swallowing, spitting out, or dropping them). To investigate the seed dispersal effectiveness of a habituated group of pigtailed macaques in Khao Yai National Park, Thailand, we examined seed dispersal quantity (number of fruit species eaten, proportion in the diet, number of feces containing seeds, and number of seeds processed) and quality (processing methods used, seed viability and germination success, habitat type and distance from parent tree for the deposited seeds, and dispersal patterns) via focal and scan sampling, seed collection, and germination tests. We found thousands of seeds per feces, including seeds up to 58 mm in length and from 88 fruit species. Importantly, the macaques dispersed seeds from primary to secondary forests, via swallowing, spitting, and dropping. Of 21 species, the effect of swallowing and spitting was positive for two species (i.e., processed seeds had a higher % germination and % viability than control seeds), neutral for 13 species (no difference in % germination or viability), and negative (processed seeds had lower % germination and viability) for five species. For the final species, the effect was neutral for spat-out seeds but negative for swallowed seeds. We conclude that macaques are effective seed dispersers in both quantitative and qualitative terms and that they are of potential importance for tropical rain forest regeneration.

Deforestation, Forest Fallowing, and Soil Conservation in Shifting Cultivation

To design effective policies for rainforest conservation in shifting cultivation systems, it is crucial to have a better understanding of shifting cultivators’ decision making. This paper develops a unified dynamic farm model of shifting cultivation, addressing two lacunae in extant theoretical works: taking into account differences between primary and secondary forests and potential roles of on-farm soil conservation. The model unifies shifting cultivator’s decisions about primary-forest clearing, forest fallowing, and on-farm soil conservation by incorporating new soils acquired from cleared primary/secondary forest land into on-farm soil dynamics. I examine how three distinct policies—forest protection (e.g., protected areas), fallow management (e.g., improved fallow), and on-farm soil management (e.g., biochar in Amazonia)—alter primary-forest clearing (deforestation) and fallow length. The analysis reveals that although all three policies reduce deforestation, only on-farm soil management leads to longer fallow, i.e., sustainable secondary fallow forest.

Around the World

In science news around the world this week, India marks 1 year without polio; a newly discovered pathogen infecting cattle, sheep, and goats has been found across Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium; the imperiled hospital and research center run by the San Raffaele del Monte Tabor Foundation may have found a buyer; China's Ministry of Health will crack down on unproven stem cell treatments; the Ecuadorian government will move forward with its rainforest conservation plan; Spain is cutting science funding; and NOAA is being moved from the Commerce Department to Interior.

Maintenance of tree phylogenetic diversity in a highly fragmented rain forest

Summary1. Deforestation and forest fragmentation can drive species to local extinction, potentially changing the phylogenetic community structure and diversity of remaining assemblages. We tested this hypothesis analysing a large vegetation data set from a highly fragmented rain forest.2. We assessed 9000 trees (both saplings and adults) from 268 species in 45 rain forest patches (ranging from < 1 to 700 ha) in three landscapes with different deforestation levels (4%, 11%, and 24% forest cover) in Los Tuxtlas, Mexico. We tested whether species density (i.e. number of species per unit area) and phylogenetic structure and diversity differed among landscapes, whether they were related to patch area, and whether the relationships differed among landscapes.3. Overall, the observed differences in sapling and adult species densities across forest patches and landscapes (e.g. lower species densities in smaller patches) resulted in few and very weak changes in the phylogenetic community structure and diversity. Our results indicate that local extirpation of tree species may occur randomly or uniformly (but not in a clustered manner) throughout the phylogenetic tree, supporting the hypothesis of low phylogenetic conservatism of traits associated with vulnerability to forest fragmentation in the Neotropics.4. Synthesis. This study indicates that in highly deforested and fragmented rain forests, the local extirpation of tree species does not occur across entire lineages. These novel and hopeful findings have direct implications for the ecology and conservation of fragmented rain forests. The maintenance of phylogenetic diversity in highly fragmented landscapes suggests that ecosystem function and stability may be maintained despite the loss of a number of tree species. We argue that in this unique Neotropical region, both large and small rain forest patches are critical for conserving regional tree evolutionary history.

Reflecting biomedical, technological and environmental issues of our modern society. The recent “Forum” section in Poiesis & Praxis

This issue of Poiesis & Praxis will give—by means of its recent “Forum” section—opportunity to a broader and enhanced debate about new and emerging fields of research, thus contributing to early assessments and ethical evaluation of recent developments in science and technology. Nevertheless, “early warnings” in this field—although favorable—basically suffer from still poor knowledge on corresponding evolving developments and on their chances and risks to the society. The underlying problem is known as the so-called Collinridge-dilemma, which describes the necessity and—at the same time—the difficulty for timely science and technology governance.1 This situation leads scholars of science and technology studies to formulate reasonable but yet provisional assessments of respective developing challenges. Therefore and while being most up-to-date, corresponding discussion notes generally cannot be considered as mature and sophisticated as extended original papers dealing with the critical review and reflection of already established fields in science and technology. On the contrary, the provisional nature of some conclusions presented in the papers of this issue is welcome with respect to the aim to stimulate and foster further academic discussions on how to shape our technological future—in the most general sense as well as within upcoming issues of this journal. This “Forum” section exposes a wide field of technology reflection, ranging from biomedical issues over developments within robotics to the adequate design of climate policies. The article by S. Benohr-Laqueur on Fighting in the legal grey area discusses the problems and needs of an interdisciplinary dialog in the case of pre-implantation diagnostics which normative implications are still ambiguous—at least from a German perspective. Another contribution on Privacy revisited? by A. Bialobrzeski reflects different bioethical concepts that might be applied to the adequate arrangement of medical biobank regimes. The main problem within this is based upon the dilemma between social interests in broad access to patient data on one hand and reasonable privacy rights of the individuals on the other hand. The author proposes a contested concept along Rawls’ theories for a just solution of the data handling problem. The paper of M. Decker et al. on Service robotics frames an interdisciplinary technology assessment on the changing roles and environments of sophisticated modern robots that will intrude progressively in peoples’ daily life and might affect the autonomy of the human users. The question whether “you know your new companion” is leading for the formulation of a corresponding interdisciplinary research initiative by the authors. Finally, D. Cansier’s article on Rainforest conservation as a strategy of climate policy unfolds a promising concept for the still pending implementation of rainforest conservation and utilization as an element of international climate protection policy. He proposes respective emission credits and certificates as instruments for the realization of his ideas and states that the combination of corresponding national and de-central approaches might give the best results for all relevant actors. The quoted papers resemble the full spectrum of technology assessment. Those readers who feel addressed or even challenged by the articles of this issue are highly welcome to bring in their points of view and to debate the given theses as well as to elaborate new discussion notes on other emerging themes by submitting their papers to Poiesis & Praxis. In this way, the journal might even literally serve as a forum of interdisciplinary communication and exchange of ideas. Therefore, the editors of this journal are curious about the corresponding feedbacks.

Rainforest conservation as a strategy of climate policy

Tropical forest conservation in developing countries has repeatedly been highlighted as a new element in international climate policy. However, no clear ideas yet exist as to what shape such a conservation strategy might take. In the present paper, we would like to make some observations to this end. It is shown how projects in order to reduce CO2-emissions resulting from deforestation and degradation (REDD) can be integrated into a system of tradable emission rights in an industrialised country and which requirements ought to be fulfilled. Instruments are emission credits and emission allowances. Driving actors interested in emission rights through forest projects may be private investors or the rainforest state itself. The efficiency of the system depends on a great extent on a binding reference path for the tolerable emissions from deforestation, which has been agreed upon and adhered to by the rainforest country by means of a forest law aimed at limiting deforestation. Our considerations lead us to conclude that the national baseline approach with an appropriate contribution by the rainforest country coupled with a decentralised system with private investors seems the most viable option. Since additional burdens are imposed on the rainforest country to some extent, a compromise could consist of agreeing on a moderate deforestation path, which is harmonised with the benefits from the forest projects. Combining both programmes (offset credits and emission allowances) is particularly attractive because all participants, and especially the industrialised country, benefit from it. The industrialised country can expand its climate conservation programme without any additional costs to a certain degree.

Multicentury tree ring reconstruction of annual streamflow for the Maule River watershed in south central Chile

Because of the reported decreasing trends in precipitation in south central Chile and the high priority of the Valdivian rain forest ecoregion conservation, it is essential to understand long‐term changes in water availability in this area. Thus, this study presents a 410 year annual streamflow reconstruction for the Maule River watershed located in a Mediterranean‐type climate in the northern part of the ecoregion (35°S–36°30′S). The annual streamflow reconstruction used Austrocedrus chilensis tree ring chronologies, and the adjusted R2 was 0.42. The reconstruction was characterized by interannual, interdecadal, and multidecadal oscillation modes, some of which might be explained by solar and lunar cycles and by ocean‐atmospheric forcings. Temporal correlations between the reconstruction and climatic indices, such as the El Niño–Southern Oscillation and the Antarctic Oscillation, demonstrate that water availability is influenced by tropical and high‐latitude forcings in this area. Extreme low and high streamflows are particularly related to ocean‐atmospheric conditions in the tropical Pacific. The Maule River watershed streamflow reconstruction reveals a higher proportion of streamflows below the mean in the last century compared to the previous three centuries.