Los forests They are important for a huge variety of reasons: they produce oxygen through photosynthesis, essential for respiration; they act as carbon sinks, helping to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and to mitigate climate change; provide natural habitats for a wide variety of animal and plant species; and they have psychological and emotional benefits for people thanks to the fact that contact with nature can reduce stress, improve mood and promote general mental health.
But its benefits do not end there. These tree and shrub ecosystems help prevent soil erosion and desertification, absorb rainwater and gradually release it through streams and rivers, provide protection against natural disasters such as landslides, floods, and avalanches, and they have been part of the culture and history of many societies for centuries.
The United Nations Organization (UN) celebrates the importance of these environments in March of each year and in this 2023 the motto is Forests and Healtha slogan that seeks promote the care of forests, beyond the benefits that as humans we can obtain from them.
In this context, and taking into account that many of them are seriously threatened by various factors, such as deforestation, excessive exploitation, forest fires or droughts; CONICET specialists analyze what are the particularities of some of the types of forests found in the region Argentine Northeast and tell how, through different projects and lines of study, they seek generate contributions for its conservation.
In the case of Chaco Forestthe CONICET researcher at the Center for Applied Ecology of the Coast, michaela waytells that it generates important contributions not only in material matters, such as the fruits that are our food, but also that provide support to our existence, mainly because they fulfill the function of regulating the climate and protecting fertile soils. “We need forests to survive, both for those who live in the cities and for the local communities and indigenous peoples who inhabit them”points out.
Regarding the importance of their conservation, he explains that they give us life and allow us to maintain our health. Faced with the tragedy of climate change, we need forests to regulate the climate and also for the conservation of animal species. “Many of them cannot live without forests, so when we cut them down either to expand cities or to develop industrial agriculture, we are putting them at risk and upsetting a whole balance on which we also depend”highlights.
And given the alarming loss of forests due to deforestation, Camino and his colleagues are designing conservation strategies that take into account both the animals that live there and Creole and indigenous communities.
As for the province of Missionsanother group of specialists from CONICET works in the conservation of forests that have the particularity of being extremely diverse. “Many of the projects we work on are focused on threatened species and their habitattrying to understand what are the factors that led them to be in that condition”Explain Gustavo Zuritaresearcher at the Institute of Subtropical Biology.
In this case, the line of study is specifically linked to insects such as dung beetles and spiders, which play a very important role in what has to do with production. Given their disappearance due to activities such as deforestation and the excessive use of veterinary products, what Zurita’s team is trying to do is quantify the benefits they have for production in order to demonstrate the role they play, and try to generate recommendations that allow combining livestock production and biodiversity conservation in the NEA.
For him, there are two perspectives from which one works in the conservation of forests. “The first is ethical and has to do with the imperative need to preserve the planet in habitable conditions for future generations, with a biodiversity similar to the one we have received. Another look is more functional and consists of The biodiversity of forests, and natural ecosystems in general, is essential for the survival of human beings. It is impossible to think of our own survival without the functions that nature provides, such as pollination of crops, cycling of nutrients in the soil, or carbon storage to mitigate climate change. In any way, whether for ethical, moral or functional reasons, there is no doubt that we need to multiply our efforts to conserve our forests”, he concludes.
