Plant species present in 70 000 hectares of the Semi-arid Chaco as potential seedbeds for the natural regeneration of the ecosystem

Abstract

Deforestation of the native forests of South America occupies the first place in the world ranking of this scourge. Deforestation in the Gran Chaco due to the extraction of wood, coal, and overgrazing has led to the original forest becoming impoverished in its resources with the presence of widespread genetic erosion of plants, animals, and soil. The objective of this work was to determine what remaining species could serve as seedbeds that allowed the regeneration of the ecosystem in two farms with 70 thousand hectares. The presence of 85 species was identified in 18 sites, 10 in El Tunal and 8 in Las Pirguas / Barrealito. 52% of the species in El Tunal are restricted to only one site, while in Las Pirguas / Barrealito only 25.5% are. The Biodiversity Index of all the surveyed sites in El Tunal and Las Pirguas / Barrealito varied between 6-40, and 29-47, respectively. The dominant tree in terms of presence in the farms studied was the Schinopsis quebracho-colorado with a presence in 60% of the sites in El Tunal, and 75% in Las Pirguas / Barrealito, followed by Caesalpinia paraguariensis with a presence of 50 % and 62.5% for the first and second of the farms, respectively. The Standard Deviation of the frequency of the species showed a greater distribution in Las Pirguas / Barrealito than in El Tunal. Of the species surveyed, at least 20 are used by cattle and / or goats as forage.