A team of scientists and park rangers from the Lanín National Park confirmed excellent news: they discovered flora that had not been recorded in Argentina since the 1960s.
In particular, the presence of piñol and other native species of high conservation value stands out.
This finding is particularly relevant because it rekindles interest in protecting these ecosystems threatened by human activity.
The discovery was made as part of the Flora of the Humid Forest project, driven by researchers from the Lanín National Park and the National University of Comahue (UNCo).
The team is composed of researchers Bibiana Chávez, Jaqueline Curruinca, the dendrologist Andrea Medina, and Adriano Arach.
Since 2021, the group has been conducting surveys to measure height, diameter, and forest characteristics of the species with high conservation value.
“They are related to how much they grow inside the park, if their distribution is very restricted, if they are interesting from a taxonomic perspective, rare from a botanical standpoint, and more,” enumerated Andrea Medina about the selection criteria.
Piñol: the plant that reappeared after 60 years in Lanín Park
The piñol (Lomatia dentata) is a small tree plant from the parotaceae family that was believed to be extinct in Argentina.
“Precisely within the framework of these projects to study and analyze the flora of special value, near Hua Hum we found a patch that had been cited decades ago,” noted Medina.
In Chile, this native species is very common, but in Argentina, there was only a historical record from the 1960s. Now, it has been recorded again in Lanín Park.
“We went out to try to find it. And not only did we find the patch, but we also measured and characterized it,” recounted the dendrologist.
The confirmation allowed determining that the species had not disappeared but remains in inaccessible sites.
“The patch was very small. We went and measured it, but we started finding more because another colleague found another patch,” added Medina.
Patagua: the native tree in danger
Another of the species observed is the patagua (Myrceugenia exsucca), a native tree that grows in very few places in Argentina.
“In Chile, it has a fairly wide distribution, but here it enters very little in some sectors of the west of the Patagonian forest and is mostly protected by national parks,” explained the researcher.
In Lanín Park, the patagua populations are found in low and humid sectors, near the lakes.
“It is a species that does not like heights, more than 900 meters above sea level it does not like. So that makes the park have very few places with low altitude,” detailed Medina.
The largest populations are in San Martín de los Andes, which contains the lowest lakes in the park.
The species forms two different types of forests: one tall with 25-meter trees, and another that forms gallery forests around rivers and lakes.
The threats to these species in Lanín Park
Both the patagua and the piñol share the same type of habitat: humid and coastal areas.
“We see the threat mainly due to the presence of exotic trees, which are not just pines: we saw poplars and other species that grow very quickly and start to take over the sites,” noted Medina.
Additionally, tourism and livestock exacerbate the problem in these fragile ecosystems.
“In the coastal areas, there is trampling, garbage, and people often unknowingly damage the roots or hang things from the branches. If we could value how beautiful and valuable they are, our relationship would be different,” lamented the specialist.
For the researcher, the key to conservation lies in education and the community’s connection with its environment.
“There is a global consensus that the only way to conserve an ecosystem is through people’s appropriation of the species,” considers Medina.
And she maintains: “You cannot love or respect something you do not know. Environmental education is crucial there.”
In particular, the patagua has significant cultural importance for the Mapuche people.
From an ecological standpoint, these species are relicts of tropical forests that remained after the glaciations.
“They are forming a tree frontier against the lake and rivers, receiving very strong winds for much of the year. They form an ecosystem that not many other species can withstand,” she explained.
“We have a really great responsibility, from the university and from the park, in their conservation and in making them more known,” said Medina.
“It is not just the task of the institutions. Also of the people who live with them, so that they respect and value them,” she affirmed.
