Afforestation is increasingly recognized as a critical strategy to restore ecosystems and enhance biodiversity on post-agricultural landscapes. However, agricultural legacies, such as altered soil structure, nutrient imbalances, and depleted microbial diversity, can slow down forest establishment or cause ecosystems to deviate from expected successional trajectories. In this opinion paper, we explore the potential of soil inoculations as a tool to overcome these challenges by introducing beneficial microbial communities that can accelerate ecosystem recovery and forest development. Restoring soil biodiversity is a crucial aspect of this process that drives broader ecosystem functionality and resilience. We highlight the need to carefully consider the type and timing of inoculations and to ensure compatibility between the inoculum and recipient site characteristics to optimize the establishment of introduced species. While tree productivity is often a central focus of afforestation efforts, the restoration of soil biodiversity, which will also contribute to increased ecosystem-level functions, should also be a priority for long-term forest resilience. Agricultural legacies add complexities to the restoration process, creating unique challenges that need to be addressed in restoration planning. Thus, successful inoculation strategies require a thorough understanding of both donor and recipient site characteristics, also in relation to potential mismatches related to soil physiochemical properties to avoid unintended consequences such as the non-establishment of introduced species. Additionally, we call for the re-evaluation of afforestation targets and the development of standardized monitoring protocols that track the success of inoculation efforts, particularly regarding soil health, microbial community establishment, and biodiversity recovery. By integrating inoculation practices within a broader restoration framework, we can enhance the resilience, biodiversity, and ecosystem functionality of newly afforested landscapes. Ultimately, this approach may play a critical role in ensuring the success of large-scale afforestation projects.

Traditional approaches of forest classifications were based on tree species composition, but recently combine phenology and climate to characterise functional (cyclic and seasonal greenness) rather than structural or compositional components (phenoclusters). The objective was to compare the conservation value (capacity to support more native biodiversity) and provision of ecosystem services (ES) in different phenocluster categories of Nothofagus antarctica forests in Tierra del Fuego (Argentina). We used available models (ES, potential biodiversity) and ground-truth data of 145 stands, comparing phenocluster values using uni- and multivariate analyses. Conservation value and capacity to supply ES significantly varied among phenocluster categories: (i) cultural, regulating, and provisioning ES and potential biodiversity at landscape level, (ii) soil carbon and nitrogen, (iii) dominant height, crown cover, basal area, total volume, and domestic animal stock, and (iv) understory plant richness and cover at stand level. These differences are linked to the forest capacity to support more native biodiversity and ES. Besides, multivariate analyses supporting the split of this forest type into four phenocluster subtypes (coast, highland, ecotone with other types, and degraded or secondary forests). Our findings suggest the needs of specific management and conservation proposals, based on phenoclusters rather than forest types defined by tree canopy-cover composition.

Silvopastoral systems (SPS) are proposed as one option that promotes a balance between productive alternatives and ecological values. The objective was to determine the changes generated by SPS (thinning + livestock) in Nothofagus antarctica (ñire) forests compared to other productive environments (unmanaged forests, dry grasslands, wet grasslands). Changes in the main components (tree, environment, forage, animal, biodiversity) were analyzed. A total of 16 areas (4 treatments x 4 replicates) were selected in Ea. El Roble (Tierra del Fuego, Argentina), where 50 variables were surveyed through plots (forest structure, forage, animals, biodiversity) and sampling in soil pits. Indices for each component and univariate analyses were performed to compare the studied environments. The results showed that SPS generates significant changes in the studied components, causing positive and negative synergies on the studied variables. These changes promote new productive environments with intermediate characteristics between forests and grasslands (dry and humid). It was observed that tree roots, unlike herbs and grasses, are located not only in the upper layer, but also appear in higher percentages at deeper layers. These results allowed us to identify the factors of change in the studied components, as well as potential indicators for monitoring. Understanding the dynamics and interactions among the different ecosystem components, allowed to generate new proposals that must be economically viable (e.g. management costs vs. growth of trees and forage) and environmentally sustainable (e.g. conservation of the original biodiversity).

Forest management aims to preserve integrity and ecosystem resilience. Conservation and species invasion patterns must be determined in managed landscapes. The objectives of this study were to identify proxies that allowed plant species invasion (natives and exotics) and define thresholds of human impacts to improve management. We also wanted to identify indicator species for different impacts and environments. A total of 165 plots were measured in Nothofagus antarctica forests and associated open lands (dry and wet grasslands) in Tierra del Fuego (Argentina). We found differences in the studied variables across the landscape and among different uses and impacts. Human impacts influence land types, emphasizing the importance of managing intensities. Indicator plant species allowed for the identification of potential ecological thresholds related to human impacts and the establishment of species linked to ecological and economic degradation, e.g., Bolax gummifera and Azorella trifurcata (cushion plants) were associated with high grazing pressure in grasslands and fires in forested areas, while Rumex acetosella and Achillea millefolium (erect herbs), typically associated with forested areas, were related to high harvesting pressures and fire impacts. These findings contribute to our understanding of the long-term effects of some human impacts (e.g., harvesting and ranching) and allow us to define variables of monitoring and indicator species for each impact type.

Detailed maps of forest structure attributes are crucial for sustainable forest management, conservation, and forest ecosystem science at the landscape level. Mapping the structure of broad heterogeneous forests is chal-lenging, but the integration of extensive field inventory plots with wall-to-wall metrics derived from synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and optical remote sensing offers a potential solution. Our goal was to map forest structure attributes (diameter at breast height, basal area, mean height, dominant height, wood volume and canopy cover) at 30-m resolution across the diverse 463,000 km2 of native forests of Argentina based on SAR Sentinel-1, vegetation metrics from Sentinel-2 and geographic coordinates. We modelled the forest structure attributes based on the latest national forest inventory, generated uncertainty maps, quantified the contribution of the predictors, and compared our height predictions with those from GEDI (Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investiga-tion) and GFCH (Global Forest Canopy Height). We analyzed 3788 forest inventory plots (1000 m2 each) from Argentina's Second Native Forest Inventory (2015-2020) to develop predictive random forest regression models. From Sentinel-1, we included both VV (vertical transmitted and received) and VH (vertical transmitted and horizontal received) polarizations and calculated 1st and 2nd order textures within 3 x 3 pixels to match the size of the inventory plots. For Sentinel-2, we derived EVI (enhanced vegetation index), calculated DHIs (dynamic habitat indices (annual cumulative, minimum and variation) and the EVI median, then generated 1st and 2nd order textures within 3 x 3 pixels of these variables. Our models including metrics from Sentinel-1 and 2, plus latitude and longitude predicted forest structure attributes well with root mean square errors (RMSE) ranging from 23.8% to 70.3%. Mean and dominant height models had notably good performance presenting relatively low RMSE (24.5% and 23.8%, respectively). Metrics from VH polarization and longitude were overall the most important predictors, but optimal predictors differed among the different forest structure attributes. Height predictions (r = 0.89 and 0.85) outperformed those from GEDI (r = 0.81) and the GFCH (r = 0.66), suggesting that SAR Sentinel-1, DHIs from Sentinel-2 plus geographic coordinates provide great opportunities to map multiple forest structure attributes for large areas. Based on our models, we generated spatially-explicit maps of multiple forest structure attributes as well as uncertainty maps at 30-m spatial resolution for all Argentina's native forest areas in support of forest management and conservation planning across the country.

Different methodologies try to identify priority conservation areas (PCA) to improve habitat conservation and decrease human pressures over bird species at coarse-scale. Map of potential biodiversity (PB) can identify PCA (high PB values) at different scale levels by considering ecological requirements and distributions through potential habitat suitability (PHS) models. The aim was to elaborate a map of PB of bird species based on PHS models to spatially identify PCA in Santa Cruz, Argentina. Moreover, we want to analysis species' ecology requirements, and evaluate PB values and spatially identify PCA through two scale levels. We computed 47 models using Environmental Niche Factor Analysis (ENFA) on Biomapper software. Each model was visualized and combined to get a unique map of PB. We analyzed ecological requirements by specialization and marginality and PHS maps. Moreover, considering natural environments (regional level) and forest types' cover (forest landscape level), we evaluated PB values using ANOVAs and identified PCA under different human pressures, using human footprint (HPF) map. Bird species related to Nothofagus forests were most specialist and exhibited a narrower potential distribution than grassland species. At regional level, Magellanic grass steppes displayed the highest PB values, where most of the PCA had high HPF values. At forest landscape level, ecotone N. antarctica forests had the highest PB values, where PCA with low HFP values were outside current protected networking. We conclude that combining PHS models and the map of PB allowed us to improve bird distribution studies and to assist biodiversity conservation strategies under human pressures.

Closing the research-implementation gap is key for advancing biodiversity conservation. One approach is to generate ecologically relevant spatial datasets that integrate easily with existing management plans. Our goal was to identify priority forest conservation areas in Argentina by combining species distributions, human footprint data, and existing forest zoning. We: (i) mapped potential habitat distributions of 70 plant and animal species associated with forests, and of recognized social and ecological importance, (ii) combined the species distributions with human footprint data to identify priority conservation areas, and (iii) evaluated the juxtaposition of our priority conservation areas with current forest management zones. We found that priority conservation areas (i.e., high number of species and low human footprint) are poorly protected by the current zoning scheme. While the Andean-Patagonian region had a substantial portion (57 %) of priority conservation areas in high protection zones, in four other forest regions we evaluated, only 16-37 % of priority areas had high protection levels. Of great concern are the Chaco and Espinal regions, where 36 % and 39 %, respectively, of priority conservation areas are in low protection zones, where conversion to other uses (row crops, livestock) is allowed. Our results provide new spatial information to managers and conservationists highlighting where current forest zoning performs well, and where it may warrant re-evaluation. Overall, our study highlights the value of integrating species distributions and human footprint maps into existing land use plans to guide conservation efforts in data-poor countries, and is an example of a strategy for closing the research-implementation gap.

The influence of the ancient landscape configuration and the land use legacies on forest cover change has been thoroughly investigated in temperate and tropical forests while it remains barely explored at high-latitudinal regions. This study explores the landscape drivers leading forest cover changes and their influence on current forest attributes in the world’s southernmost forests (Argentina). Nothofagus antarctica forest cover changes were determined by combining multitemporal photo-interpretation of aerial photographs (1961) and satellite images (2016–2019). We analyzed changes in land covers and landscape diversity indexes. We also explored the potential relationships among descriptors of forest structure, soil or understory characteristics, and the magnitude of forest increase. Forest cover increased in 55 sites (72% of study area), and decreased in 21 sites (28% of study area). Cleared forests and forest edges decreased by half from past to the present, while woody encroachment increased. This resulted in a diversification of the current landscape by an increase in the number of land cover categories and Shannon–Wiener index. The increase in forest cover was positively influenced by land cover diversity and latitude, i.e., major increases at southern latitudes. Forests with greater recovery presented more similar understory attributes than those with lower recovery, while in other forest structures and soil properties, different magnitudes of recovery occurred. Sites with a high proportion of forest recovery evidence a reduction of past land use legacies (e.g., forage plant species introduced for livestock) at a local scale. These results expand our knowledge about the current natural dynamic of high-latitude forests, although the precise anthropic pressure changes (e.g., livestock density) leading to this process are still unclear and should be further investigated. Management practices should consider these spatial differences in the response to recovery of sub-Antarctic forests, such as the management of densely regenerated areas by thinning, or the restoration of degraded forests, as well as the monitoring of woody encroachment in natural grasslands and peatlands. Although we document an overall gain in N. antarctica forests, the results could vary when incorporating other forest types (N. pumilio, N. betuloides) and geographic zones (e.g., Andean mountains), due to the complex dynamics of these coupled human-natural systems.

The Andes Mountains are considered a global biodiversity hotspot, where Polylepis forests are one of the most threatened forests in the area. We evaluate the P. tarapacana forest's distribution and cover and relate this pattern with topographic, climatic and geographic environmental factors at the landscape level. Along 93 plots, forest structure data was conducted according to their homogeneity, accessibility, and size (patches up to > 1 ha each). Hexagon binning processes were used to estimate the forest cover, as the proportion of hexagon area covered by forests, and one-way ANOVAs were conducted to evaluate its variation according to the environmental factors. Our results show that P. tarapacana forests are widely distributed, occupying a forest area of 8519.8 ha among 2462 forest patches and an average of 6.7% of forest cover (1296 hexagons - 129600 ha). According to the findings, the entire forest distribution encompasses a wide range of environmental conditions. We identify that the slopes and elevations were the main environmental drivers that shaped P. tarapacana distribution and cover. Variations in forest area and cover indicate a strong preference for north and east-facing slopes (18 and 24°) and intermediate elevations (4400 - 4500 m a.s.l), with a life zone of Tropical subalpine dry scrub accounting for 62.1%. Our research shows that remote sensing mapping and geographic information systems are effective methods for identifying habitat variables linked to threatened forest cover and evidence of forest vulnerability in the face of continuous global change.

Most of the native forests in Argentina are used for livestock production with little sustainable silvopastoral management. Our objective here is to discuss different management strategies where natural and human capital are combined to co-produce ecosystem services (ES) provided by silvopastoral systems in native forests, interacting with different ecosystem functions and biodiversity. Also, we provide perspectives that should be analyzed in a context of socio-ecological approaches in agro-forestry landscapes. Four types of theoretical strategies are proposed (win-win, win-lose, lose-win and lose-lose), which define the social-ecological and economic thresholds that determine the provision of ES and biodiversity in the long term. The evidence of the win-lose strategy occurs when the silvopastoral systems are managed mainly to increase economic profitability through increments in forage biomass aimed to increase livestock production in the medium and long term. Deferred deforestation was presented as a typical example of lose-lose strategy in the Chaco region based on short-term management strategies by only obtaining commodities (crops or livestock products) without considering the negative interactions with other ES and loss of biodiversity. The information provided in this work should assist stakeholders and researchers to identify thresholds of economic profitability and ecological resilience in ecosystems under management. The proposed approaches provide a utilitarian vision of ecosystem services and key aspects of social-ecological resilience.

Significant gaps remain in understanding the response of plant reproduction to environmental change. This is partly because measuring reproduction in long-lived plants requires direct observation over many years and such datasets have rarely been made publicly available. Here we introduce MASTREE+, a data set that collates reproductive time-series data from across the globe and makes these data freely available to the community. MASTREE+ includes 73,828 georeferenced observations of annual reproduction (e.g. seed and fruit counts) in perennial plant populations worldwide. These observations consist of 5971 population-level time-series from 974 species in 66 countries. The mean and median time-series length is 12.4 and 10 years respectively, and the data set includes 1122 series that extend over at least two decades (>= 20 years of observations). For a subset of well-studied species, MASTREE+ includes extensive replication of time-series across geographical and climatic gradients. Here we describe the open-access data set, available as a.csv file, and we introduce an associated web-based app for data exploration. MASTREE+ will provide the basis for improved understanding of the response of long-lived plant reproduction to environmental change. Additionally, MASTREE+ will enable investigation of the ecology and evolution of reproductive strategies in perennial plants, and the role of plant reproduction as a driver of ecosystem dynamics.

Sustainable forest management is proposed as a solution for many ecological and socio-economic trade-offs associated with different forest uses. In Patagonia, silvopastoral systems were proposed to balance provisioning ecosystem services and other natural values. However, the design of these practices needs a better understanding of livestock production. The objective of this study was to determine changes in the understory forage value and livestock occurrence in Nothofagus antarctica forests of Tierra del Fuego (Argentina) growing under a natural dynamic and in stands with impacts generated by harvesting, fires and silvopastoral uses. We sampled 145 areas determining forest structure, understory forage value (cover, biomass, forage quality) and livestock occurrence (wild and domestic stocking rate), including different forest conditions: (i) six phases of the natural forest cycle (even- and uneven-aged stands), (ii) four types of management and conversion alternatives (different thinning intensities, clear-cuts, and fires), and (iii) three associated environments (forest edges and grasslands). Main results showed that understory cover and biomass did not differ along the natural forest phases, but varied across management alternatives and associated environments. The magnitude of these changes was directly related to the impact degree. Forage quality did not change across the factors and levels. Livestock occurrence is related to the observed changes in the understory; however, a different behaviour was observed between wild and domestic herbivores. The different analyses highlighted the similarities in forage value and livestock occurrence among the different natural forest phases, and showed how the stands with different impacts differed from the control stands. The outputs could be used to improve forest management strategies in the framework of silvopastoral systems at landscape level.

Soil erosion in rangelands is the main driver of desertification as a result of severe drought events and overgrazing reducing potential land productivity. The objectives of this chapter are to provide an overview of soil erosion as it relates to ecosystem services and to determine soil erosion rates from exposed roots of four shrub and dwarf-shrub species in nine sites of Southern Patagonia rangelands (Santa Cruz province, Argentina) as a case study. We highlight that soil protection is critical to sustain the capacity of rangeland ecosystems to supply provisioning (lamb and cattle meat, sheep wool) supporting (nutrient cycling, biodiversity, habitat) and regulating (carbon fixation, water flow regulation) ecosystem services for human well-being. We used a dendrogeomorphological method to determine soil erosion rates against datable exposed roots. Also, in each site soil samples were collected from nine randomly selected points in nondegraded patches to provide reference points from which to calculate loss of soil organic carbon and nutrients from erosion. The soil erosion rate in the degraded areas characterized by dwarf shrubs and shrubs with exposed roots was significantly different between sites and ranged from 1.6 to 4.1 mm year− 1. Soil mass loss rate ranged from 12.7 to 32.0 Mg ha− 1 year− 1 and soil carbon loss fluctuated from 85.3 to 250.1 kg C ha− 1 year− 1. The main soil nutrient depleted during erosion processes was nitrogen (mean sites value of 17.9 kg N ha− 1 year− 1) followed by potassium (mean of 9.2 kg K ha− 1 year− 1) followed by phosphorus (mean of 0.6 kg P ha− 1 year− 1). These results highlight the need for an early warning system by a soil erosion monitoring entity to prevent soil loss and prescribe sustainable management practices to maintain rangelands in an ecologically healthy state to conserve ecological functions and ecosystem service provision.

In the last years, different spatial analyses were developed to support multi-taxon biodiversity conservation strategies. In fact, the use of species distribution models as input allowed to create spatial decision-support maps. Of special interest are maps of potential biodiversity (MPB), which define distribution and ecological requirements of relevant species and maps of priority conservation areas (MPCA), which define priority areas considering endemism and richness. The objective of this paper was to assess multi-taxon biodiversity based on two different spatial analyses and to test their efficiency to support conservation decision at Patagonia. We computed 119 potential habitat suitability maps (one deer, birds, lizards, darkling-beetles, plants) with ENFA (Environmental Niche Factor Analysis) and 15 environmental variables, using Biomapper software. ENFA calculate two ecological indexes (marginality and specialization) which describe the narrowness of species niches and how extreme are the optimum environmental conditions related to the whole study area. These maps were combined obtaining a MPB and MPCA using Zonation software. Multivariate analyses were performed to compare methodologies, analysing environmental variables, ecological areas, forest types and protected areas. Multivariate and ecological indexes showed that deer, lizards and darkling-beetles presented a narrow range, while birds and plants presented a large range of marginality and specialization mainly related to vegetation and climate. At provincial level, highest potential biodiversity and conservation priority values were related to shrublands and humid steppes. However, MPCA showed higher values related to forests and alpine vegetation due to endemism, while MPB showed differences among forest types. These analyses showed that the most valuable areas were not represented in the protected areas, however, many higher conservation priority values were found inside the protected compared with unprotected areas. Different spatial decision-support maps presented similar outputs at provincial scale, but differed in the forest landscape matrix. Both methodologies can be used to plan conservation strategies depending on the specific objectives (e.g. highlighting richness or endemism).

Human appropriation of net primary productivity (HANPP) integrates ecological and socioeconomic perspectives on land use by quantifying the amount of net primary production (NPP) appropriated by society through biomass harvest from the ecosystem. The main objective of this study was to determine the spatial patterns of HANPP related to lamb and wool production from sheep farms across the province of Santa Cruz. The HANPP was obtained by dividing the sum of the biomass used in livestock products (lamb and wool) by the NPP. In addition, we examined the spatial relationship between HANPP and potential plant biodiversity and net carbon balance at the farm level under livestock land use across our study region. At the regional level, livestock production accounted for an average of 11.35% of appropriated NPP, and HANPP ranged from 0.75 to 50%. The map of HANPP across Santa Cruz showed low values in the vegetation transition (ecotone) between Nothofagus antarctica forests and grasslands in the west, in the south, and in wetlands where the most productive rangelands dominate. High values were observed in the northwest and central areas of the province. There were differences in HANPP across vegetation types with mean values that varied from 3.93% in grasslands on the Humid Magellanic Steppe to 12.33% in the Central Plateau. Simple linear regression analysis for HANPP evaluated in Southern Patagonia showed a negative linear relationship (p < 0.05) with vascular plant biodiversity and net carbon balance at the farm level. The method used to map HANPP related to livestock provisioning ecosystem services (ES) in the present study (lamb and wool), may be integrated into decision support systems. In this context, low HANPP values (<9%) promote sustainability-oriented economies within the region. Furthermore, keeping plant biodiversity and net carbon balance at the farm level could bring Patagonian export commodities recognition in international markets.

Different variables operate simultaneously at different spatial scales, influencing community composition and species distribution. This knowledge could improve management and conservation practices in managed menaced forests. The objective of this work was to determine the influence of landscape and stand variables on the bird assemblage of the managed Nothofagus antarctica forest of Tierra del Fuego (Argentina). We used data from bird point counts (three or four censuses during middle summer of two consecutive years) located at 48 sites distributed at four ranches. At each site, we extracted landscape variables with Fragstat software from the forest patches, the cover classes, and the whole landscape. We also evaluated local stand characteristics, such as forest structure, ground cover, and food availability, including understory plant cover usually consumed by birds and available arthropods. Data were evaluated by detrended and canonical correspondence analyses. We found that landscape configuration (e.g., forest patch shape) and local stand variables (e.g., canopy cover) influenced bird assemblage more than landscape composition. Moreover, bird functional groups responded differently to different spatial scale variables (e.g., forest specialist species were associated with forest structure, but species that use low strata to nest and feed were associated with landscape configuration variables), demonstrating the importance of using multiple spatial scales to better understand bird species requirements. The combination of practices that promote some local characteristics (e.g., high canopy cover) and more complex landscape configurations could simultaneously favor different bird species groups and improve the effectiveness of management and conservation strategies.

Forest biodiversity conservation and species distribution modeling greatly benefit from broad-scale forest maps depicting tree species or forest types rather than just presence and absence of forest, or coarse classifications. Ideally, such maps would stem from satellite image classification based on abundant field data for both model training and accuracy assessments, but such field data do not exist in many parts of the globe. However, different forest types and tree species differ in their vegetation phenology, offering an opportunity to map and characterize forests based on the seasonal dynamic of vegetation indices and auxiliary data. Our goal was to map and characterize forests based on both land surface phenology and climate patterns, defined here as forest phenoclusters. We applied our methodology in Argentina (2.8 million km2 ), which has a wide variety of forests, from rainforests to cold-temperate forests. We calculated phenology measures after fitting a harmonic curve of the enhanced vegetation index (EVI) time series derived from 30-m Sentinel 2 and Landsat 8 data from 2018-2019. For climate, we calculated land surface temperature (LST) from Band 10 of the thermal infrared sensor (TIRS) of Landsat 8, and precipitation from Worldclim (BIO12). We performed stratified X-means cluster classifications followed by hierarchical clustering. The resulting clusters separated well into 54 forest phenoclusters with unique combinations of vegetation phenology and climate characteristics. The EVI 90th percentile was more important than our climate and other phenology measures in providing separability among different forest phenoclusters. Our results highlight the potential of combining remotely sensed phenology measures and climate data to improve broad-scale forest mapping for different management and conservation goals, capturing functional rather than structural or compositional characteristics between and within tree species. Our approach results in classifications that go beyond simple forest-nonforest in areas where the lack of detailed ecological field data precludes tree species-level classifications, yet conservation needs are high. Our map of forest phenoclusters is a valuable tool for the assessment of natural resources, and the management of the environment at scales relevant for conservation actions.

Understanding human influence on ecosystems and their services is crucial to achieve sustainable development and ensure the conservation of biodiversity. In this context, the human footprint index (HFI) represents the anthropogenic impacts on ecosystems and the natural environment. Our objective was to characterize the HFI in Southern Patagonia (Argentina) across the landscape, qualifying the differences among the main ecological areas and especially the forested landscapes. We also assessed the potential utility of HFI to identify priority conservation areas according to their wilderness quality and potential biodiversity values. We created a HFI map (scores varied from 0 representing high wilderness quality to 1 representing maximum human impact) using variables related to direct (e.g. infrastructure) and indirect (e.g. derived from economic activities) human impacts, including settlements, accessibility, oil industry, and sheep production. HFI varied significantly across the natural landscapes, being lower (0.07−0.11) in remote ecosystems close to the Andes Mountains and higher (0.38−0.40) in southern areas close to the provincial capital city. Forested landscapes presented different impact values, which were directly related to the economical values of the different forest types. We determined that the current protected area network is not equally distributed across the different ecological areas and forest types. Priority conservation areas were also identified using the fragmentation produced by the human impact, the patch size, and the potential biodiversity values. HFI can present high compatibility with other land-use management decision making tools, acting as a complement to the existing tools for conservation planning or management.

Understanding sociocultural values towards ecosystem services (ES) facilitates a decision-making process across multiple management objectives. The aim of this chapter was to analyse the stakeholders’ perceptions of ES, wellbeing and connectedness to nature at regional level in Southern Patagonia (Santa Cruz Province, Argentina). For this, we designed a questionnaire and conducted 451 face-to-face semi-structured interviews, in which 168 corresponded to local residents and 283 to foreign visitors. Ecosystem services were classified depending on the degree of perceived importance and vulnerability for wellbeing. From this, 12 ES (5 provisioning, 6 cultural and 1 regulating) were perceived as important for wellbeing. Analysing the perceptions of vulnerable ES by each local stakeholder, we found that both groups of locals and decision-makers perceived provisioning services (mainly livestock, fresh water, timber, fishing and shellfish) and regulating (erosion control, habitat for species and climate regulation) as important ones. Survey respondents generally indicated a high level of connectivity with nature being similar for both locals and visitors. Our results showed that social perception of values can substantially contribute to identify ES by focusing on the conflicts that emerge among different stakeholder groups. The sociocultural information of the present study can provide important inputs into negotiations in a decision-making process, allowing participants to compare positive and negative impacts of various options for ES management.

Land use planning is mainly based on monetary values of provisioning ecosystem services (ES). However, many other non-monetary ES and biodiversity provide values for human well-being, and it should be included in the decision-making. The objective of this chapter was to characterize different ES (provisioning, cultural, supporting, regulating) and potential biodiversity in different forest types in Tierra del Fuego Province, Argentina. We map and extract information for provision of ES and biodiversity and compare them through univariate and multivariate methods. We found that each forest type showed different potential biodiversity that determines the need of specific conservation and management strategies. Forest types presented different types and levels of provision of the studied ES, where several synergies and trade-offs were observed according to the current economic activities. Beside this, ES and potential biodiversity of the forests are not equally represented in the currently protected natural reserve network, compared to the values at landscape level. These outputs can be used to improve the current land use planning and the effectiveness of conservation at landscape level.