90
Roble pellín wood is used for outdoor construction (sleepers, shipbuilding,
poles), as well as carpentry, furniture and musical instruments, but it requires careful drying to avoid crack problems. It reaches in the regional market almost three
times the price of that of ponderosa pine, the most planted exotic species in the
region (MinAgro 2018). The wood quality of roble pellín encouraged the overexploitation of its Argentinean forests in the late nineteenth and the early twentieth
centuries (González Peñalba et al. 2008), until the creation of Lanín National Park
in 1937. Nowadays, within National Park jurisdiction, some roble pellín forests are
managed for sustainable timber production.
Nothofagus obliqua extends over a wide precipitation range (about 850–2500 mm/
year), expressing tolerance to drought and some degree of plasticity (Varela et al.
2010). It occupies the lowest altitude locations in the mountain, which is also indicative of its better adaptation to the warmest niches. Accordingly, future climate
models predict a wider distribution since current warm and dry conditions will
spread over a larger area (Marchelli et al. 2017). These ecological characteristics
together with its high wood quality make N. obliqua a remarkable species for
domestication and breeding.
4.1.1 Species Characteristics and Natural Distribution Range
Nothofagus is a genus with disjunct distribution represented by more than 40 species in the world. In South American temperate forests, we can find ten species and
three recognized hybrids, with seven species occurring in Argentina. The genus is
subdivided in four subgenera, being N. obliqua classified in the subgenus Lophozonia
along with other six species (Hill and Read 1991; Martin and Dowd 1993; Heenan
and Smissen 2013), three of which are also South American: Nothofagus alpina
(Poepp. & Endl.) Oerst., Nothofagus glauca (Phil.) Krasser (Veblen et al. 1996) and
Nothofagus macrocarpa (A. DC.) F. M. Vázquez and R. Rodr. (Vázquez and
Rodríguez 1999). Recently, Heenan and Smissen (2013) raised this classification at
genus level, meaning that the Latin name of roble pellín would be Lophozonia obliqua, but controversies arose (Hill et al. 2015), and former names are currently
accepted (Darwinion Institute http://www.darwin.edu.ar/Proyectos/FloraArgentina/
fa.htm).
Nothofagus obliqua is a deciduous tree species; leaf blades are lanceolate to
ovate, with asymmetric base (hence the name obliqua) and double-serrated edge.
Adult individuals present straight stems that can reach up to 40 m in height, characterised by grey bark on plates. The species is monoecious, wind-pollinated, preferentially anemochorous and exhibits protandria. Fruits are winged achenes, subtended
on woody cupules (Donoso et al. 2006a) (Fig. 4.1) and fall between March and the
beginning of May, depending on the climatic conditions of the year and site features
(Veblen et al. 1996). Seed production is characterised by cycles of 2–3 years
(Donoso 1993), although according to our field observations, cycles seem longer in
M. M. Azpilicueta et al.
Roble pellín wood is used for outdoor construction (sleepers, shipbuilding,
poles), as well as carpentry, furniture and musical instruments, but it requires careful drying to avoid crack problems. It reaches in the regional market almost three
times the price of that of ponderosa pine, the most planted exotic species in the
region (MinAgro 2018). The wood quality of roble pellín encouraged the overexploitation of its Argentinean forests in the late nineteenth and the early twentieth
centuries (González Peñalba et al. 2008), until the creation of Lanín National Park
in 1937. Nowadays, within National Park jurisdiction, some roble pellín forests are
managed for sustainable timber production.
Nothofagus obliqua extends over a wide precipitation range (about 850–2500 mm/
year), expressing tolerance to drought and some degree of plasticity (Varela et al.
2010). It occupies the lowest altitude locations in the mountain, which is also indicative of its better adaptation to the warmest niches. Accordingly, future climate
models predict a wider distribution since current warm and dry conditions will
spread over a larger area (Marchelli et al. 2017). These ecological characteristics
together with its high wood quality make N. obliqua a remarkable species for
domestication and breeding.
4.1.1 Species Characteristics and Natural Distribution Range
Nothofagus is a genus with disjunct distribution represented by more than 40 species in the world. In South American temperate forests, we can find ten species and
three recognized hybrids, with seven species occurring in Argentina. The genus is
subdivided in four subgenera, being N. obliqua classified in the subgenus Lophozonia
along with other six species (Hill and Read 1991; Martin and Dowd 1993; Heenan
and Smissen 2013), three of which are also South American: Nothofagus alpina
(Poepp. & Endl.) Oerst., Nothofagus glauca (Phil.) Krasser (Veblen et al. 1996) and
Nothofagus macrocarpa (A. DC.) F. M. Vázquez and R. Rodr. (Vázquez and
Rodríguez 1999). Recently, Heenan and Smissen (2013) raised this classification at
genus level, meaning that the Latin name of roble pellín would be Lophozonia obliqua, but controversies arose (Hill et al. 2015), and former names are currently
accepted (Darwinion Institute http://www.darwin.edu.ar/Proyectos/FloraArgentina/
fa.htm).
Nothofagus obliqua is a deciduous tree species; leaf blades are lanceolate to
ovate, with asymmetric base (hence the name obliqua) and double-serrated edge.
Adult individuals present straight stems that can reach up to 40 m in height, characterised by grey bark on plates. The species is monoecious, wind-pollinated, preferentially anemochorous and exhibits protandria. Fruits are winged achenes, subtended
on woody cupules (Donoso et al. 2006a) (Fig. 4.1) and fall between March and the
beginning of May, depending on the climatic conditions of the year and site features
(Veblen et al. 1996). Seed production is characterised by cycles of 2–3 years
(Donoso 1993), although according to our field observations, cycles seem longer in
M. M. Azpilicueta et al.