311
seedlings, as they browsed them. With a recruitment of 32 saplings per ha and year,
the control treatment (natural regeneration) was the best, which turned out to be an
endozoochoric dispersion facilitated by the cattle. Therefore, paradoxically, livestock was essential for the best of the options essayed for the regeneration of this
degraded forest.
The exploitation of Gonopterodendron sarmientoi as a logging resource is carried out using exclusively native forest trees, thus, being environmentally and economically unsustainable. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature
(IUCN) considers G. sarmientoi in the category “endangered” (Barstow 2018). The
species conservation status in Paraguay is classified as endangered too, because of
habitat loss and selective logging. In Argentina, the species is not included in a list
of endangered taxa, but there are laws and normative that regulate the exploitation
of native flora in general and in particular the palo santo logging. Currently, our
country is writing a Comprehensive Management Plan for the species, which
includes the revision of the existing regulations, the management and control of
exploitation, the generation of information on distribution, genetic variability and
growth dynamics of the species. In Bolivia, the species is considered vulnerable due
to a restricted geographical range and a decrease in the size of the subpopulation
(De la Barra and Guillén 2018). For Brazil, no specific regulations were found.
As a first step in proposing tools that contribute to the conservation and management of palo santo, Camps et al. (2018) performed a synthetic map (Fig. 11.7) based
on genetic information (cpDNA) and species distribution modelling across time to
reveal zones where high genetic diversity values overlaps with climatically stable
areas (refugees). This approach highlights three main relevant areas that must be
considered to conserve the genetic resources of the species: one is an extended area
in the centre of the range (Paraguayan Chaco) with stable climate since the last
interglacial maximum (120 ka), and the other two zones (Paraguayan Chaco and the
triple boundary between Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay) are stable since the Last
Glacial Maximum (20 ka). Because climatic refugees are areas that can preserve the
evolutionary history of lineages (Keppel et al. 2012; Tzedakis et al. 2013), these
sites are of conservation interest. In addition, Chiquitano Dry Forest and Southeast
zone are of conservation value because of its high levels of genetic diversity, the
presence of exclusive haplotypes, and because they are localities where the species
is adapted to extreme environmental conditions.
Cultivation of G. sarmientoi has not been developed so far. Preliminary results
obtained from germination experiments at three different thermoperiods (35/15 °C,
25/15 °C and 20/10 °C) showed that the highest percentages of germination (90%)
were obtained at the intermediate temperature, 25/15 °C, both in light (12/12 h) and
permanent darkness (Venier, Ferreras and Funes, unpublished data). Some planting
experiences at small scale have been carried out. For example, in the Centro de
Validación de Tecnologías Agropecuarias (CEDEVA), in Laguna Yema (Province of
Formosa), native seedlings at 7 years of age show an approximate height of 1.5 to
2 m (Hector Taboada, personal communication), a preliminary observation that
proves the slow growths of the species, but also its aptitude for cultivation.
11 Species Without Current Breeding Relevance But High Economic Value: Acaci
seedlings, as they browsed them. With a recruitment of 32 saplings per ha and year,
the control treatment (natural regeneration) was the best, which turned out to be an
endozoochoric dispersion facilitated by the cattle. Therefore, paradoxically, livestock was essential for the best of the options essayed for the regeneration of this
degraded forest.
The exploitation of Gonopterodendron sarmientoi as a logging resource is carried out using exclusively native forest trees, thus, being environmentally and economically unsustainable. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature
(IUCN) considers G. sarmientoi in the category “endangered” (Barstow 2018). The
species conservation status in Paraguay is classified as endangered too, because of
habitat loss and selective logging. In Argentina, the species is not included in a list
of endangered taxa, but there are laws and normative that regulate the exploitation
of native flora in general and in particular the palo santo logging. Currently, our
country is writing a Comprehensive Management Plan for the species, which
includes the revision of the existing regulations, the management and control of
exploitation, the generation of information on distribution, genetic variability and
growth dynamics of the species. In Bolivia, the species is considered vulnerable due
to a restricted geographical range and a decrease in the size of the subpopulation
(De la Barra and Guillén 2018). For Brazil, no specific regulations were found.
As a first step in proposing tools that contribute to the conservation and management of palo santo, Camps et al. (2018) performed a synthetic map (Fig. 11.7) based
on genetic information (cpDNA) and species distribution modelling across time to
reveal zones where high genetic diversity values overlaps with climatically stable
areas (refugees). This approach highlights three main relevant areas that must be
considered to conserve the genetic resources of the species: one is an extended area
in the centre of the range (Paraguayan Chaco) with stable climate since the last
interglacial maximum (120 ka), and the other two zones (Paraguayan Chaco and the
triple boundary between Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay) are stable since the Last
Glacial Maximum (20 ka). Because climatic refugees are areas that can preserve the
evolutionary history of lineages (Keppel et al. 2012; Tzedakis et al. 2013), these
sites are of conservation interest. In addition, Chiquitano Dry Forest and Southeast
zone are of conservation value because of its high levels of genetic diversity, the
presence of exclusive haplotypes, and because they are localities where the species
is adapted to extreme environmental conditions.
Cultivation of G. sarmientoi has not been developed so far. Preliminary results
obtained from germination experiments at three different thermoperiods (35/15 °C,
25/15 °C and 20/10 °C) showed that the highest percentages of germination (90%)
were obtained at the intermediate temperature, 25/15 °C, both in light (12/12 h) and
permanent darkness (Venier, Ferreras and Funes, unpublished data). Some planting
experiences at small scale have been carried out. For example, in the Centro de
Validación de Tecnologías Agropecuarias (CEDEVA), in Laguna Yema (Province of
Formosa), native seedlings at 7 years of age show an approximate height of 1.5 to
2 m (Hector Taboada, personal communication), a preliminary observation that
proves the slow growths of the species, but also its aptitude for cultivation.
11 Species Without Current Breeding Relevance But High Economic Value: Acaci