331
The Province of Misiones leads the production of long fiber pulp of Argentina,
and its production systems provide 70 to 85% to the Argentine timber market. In
2018, Misiones production was at 10 million m
3
of raw material, mainly of yellow
pines (Pinus elliottii var. elliottiii and Pinus taeda). The total consumption of the
438 registered sawmills is around 3.3 million m
3
of wood, while pulp, paper, and
board factories consumed a similar value of wood (Laharrague 2018). According to
the provincial inventory (2015), the area cultivated with trees in the Province of
Misiones is 405,824 ha. It is noted that 92% of the local consumption of wood
comes from local plantations, led by yellow pines (87%) and followed by Eucalyptus
spp. (9%), Paraná pine (2%), and others (Toona, Paulownia, and Melia among the
main genus). Similarly, 86% of the raw material used by sawmills comes from the
province itself (MinAgro 2018).
Among the native tree species of the Alto Paraná Rainforest, Araucaria angustifolia is the most important one destined to commercial forest plantations. In recent
years, it has seen a sustained growth in demand, which has led to an improvement
in prices compared to previous cycles. Compared to exotic resinous pines, today it
is possible to pay double or more for the ton of wood of planted Paraná pine in the
local market. There are 16,000 ha planted with Paraná pine at present (Pinazo 2013).
The Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA) is currently carrying out
a genetic improvement program of this species and is in charge of providing seeds
to the productive sector (see Chap. 15).
With respect to native species, the activity remains clearly extractive and the
average annual volume is 289,274 m
3
, being the main species: Parapiptadenia
rigida, Patagonula americana, Ocotea puberula, Balfourodendron riedelianum,
and Cordia trichotoma, a group that provides 15% of the volume. A second group
provides the 3.5% of the volume marketed: Luehea divaricata, Cedrela fissilis,
Cabralea canjerana, Apuleia leiocarpa, and Myrocarpus frondosus. The rest is
made up of a large series of minor species.
The consolidation of the forestry-industry model is characterized by the establishment of paper industries in the Province of Misiones, the growth of plantations
for industrial purposes and the formation of villages and colonies around sawmills
and manufacturing enterprises. The technology used in the new factories exceeded
the rudimentary ones of the extractivist model; thus, the Alto Paraná began to be
considered as a forestry-industrial pole (Ramírez 2017). However, Argentina produces less than 1 million ton/year of pulp and 1.7 million ton/year of paper. The
factories are mostly obsolete and those that are being modernized are slowly doing
so. The scale of production of all factories is far below the international average
(Laharrague 2018).
The average annual deforestation of the Province of Misiones was estimated a
few years ago as 6700 ha per year (Milkovic 2012), which has decreased significantly from previous data (18,780 ha/year for the period 1989–2004, Guerrero
Borges et al. 2007). Natural forests of the emblematic A. araucana were reduced
considerably through exploitation since the early twentieth century (Fahler 1981)
and are now “critically endangered” according to the red list of species (IUCN 2015).
12 Subtropical Rainforests: The Yungas and the Alto Paraná Rainforest
The Province of Misiones leads the production of long fiber pulp of Argentina,
and its production systems provide 70 to 85% to the Argentine timber market. In
2018, Misiones production was at 10 million m
3
of raw material, mainly of yellow
pines (Pinus elliottii var. elliottiii and Pinus taeda). The total consumption of the
438 registered sawmills is around 3.3 million m
3
of wood, while pulp, paper, and
board factories consumed a similar value of wood (Laharrague 2018). According to
the provincial inventory (2015), the area cultivated with trees in the Province of
Misiones is 405,824 ha. It is noted that 92% of the local consumption of wood
comes from local plantations, led by yellow pines (87%) and followed by Eucalyptus
spp. (9%), Paraná pine (2%), and others (Toona, Paulownia, and Melia among the
main genus). Similarly, 86% of the raw material used by sawmills comes from the
province itself (MinAgro 2018).
Among the native tree species of the Alto Paraná Rainforest, Araucaria angustifolia is the most important one destined to commercial forest plantations. In recent
years, it has seen a sustained growth in demand, which has led to an improvement
in prices compared to previous cycles. Compared to exotic resinous pines, today it
is possible to pay double or more for the ton of wood of planted Paraná pine in the
local market. There are 16,000 ha planted with Paraná pine at present (Pinazo 2013).
The Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA) is currently carrying out
a genetic improvement program of this species and is in charge of providing seeds
to the productive sector (see Chap. 15).
With respect to native species, the activity remains clearly extractive and the
average annual volume is 289,274 m
3
, being the main species: Parapiptadenia
rigida, Patagonula americana, Ocotea puberula, Balfourodendron riedelianum,
and Cordia trichotoma, a group that provides 15% of the volume. A second group
provides the 3.5% of the volume marketed: Luehea divaricata, Cedrela fissilis,
Cabralea canjerana, Apuleia leiocarpa, and Myrocarpus frondosus. The rest is
made up of a large series of minor species.
The consolidation of the forestry-industry model is characterized by the establishment of paper industries in the Province of Misiones, the growth of plantations
for industrial purposes and the formation of villages and colonies around sawmills
and manufacturing enterprises. The technology used in the new factories exceeded
the rudimentary ones of the extractivist model; thus, the Alto Paraná began to be
considered as a forestry-industrial pole (Ramírez 2017). However, Argentina produces less than 1 million ton/year of pulp and 1.7 million ton/year of paper. The
factories are mostly obsolete and those that are being modernized are slowly doing
so. The scale of production of all factories is far below the international average
(Laharrague 2018).
The average annual deforestation of the Province of Misiones was estimated a
few years ago as 6700 ha per year (Milkovic 2012), which has decreased significantly from previous data (18,780 ha/year for the period 1989–2004, Guerrero
Borges et al. 2007). Natural forests of the emblematic A. araucana were reduced
considerably through exploitation since the early twentieth century (Fahler 1981)
and are now “critically endangered” according to the red list of species (IUCN 2015).
12 Subtropical Rainforests: The Yungas and the Alto Paraná Rainforest