A Decade of Biocultural Research in Bosque Pehuén

Just over a decade ago, various research initiatives began taking place in Bosque Pehuén, a protected natural reserve managed by Fundación Mar Adentro (FMA), located in the Andean Araucanía. In addition to residency programs for artists and scientists, groups dedicated to ecological knowledge, as well as social scientists, humanists, and researchers from various universities, have arrived at this natural laboratory to carry out practices, theses, and explorations that have contributed to a deeper understanding of socio-ecosystems.

Research has included flora and fauna monitoring, forest scanning, studies on seed dispersion dynamics by the monito del monte, amphibian reproduction phenomena, and scientific inspirations that led to sound compositions. These are just a few examples of the diversity of studies conducted in recent years at Bosque Pehuén (1), a reserve located in the Andean Araucanía and protected by our foundation.
Bosque Pehuén—soon to be officially named a natural reserve—covers more than 800 hectares. It is an open-air laboratory where studies, creative processes, and the integration of knowledge about nature converge, aiming to protect and broaden conservation perspectives to understand the dynamics and changes in ecosystems, such as the behavior of Nothofagus and araucaria forests, photomonitoring of native vertebrate fauna, and microclimate studies, among other research efforts.

It is also part of the Araucarias Biosphere Reserve, one of the territorial nodes aligned with the goals of UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere (MaB) Program. This initiative seeks to increase ways of contributing to biodiversity conservation and sustainable development of local economies based on ecosystem services that territories provide to support human well-being by “conserving biological and cultural diversity, as well as providing logistical support through research, monitoring, education, and training.”

From this perspective, and in line with the principles of Fundación Mar Adentro (FMA), the research approaches undertaken in this highly biodiverse and intercultural territory range from scientific, artistic, and humanistic disciplines and intersect with social sciences. The goal is to foster transdisciplinary perspectives with an emphasis on biocultural integration of knowledge. The biocultural concept is understood as “the parallel evolution of biological and cultural diversity and their ongoing adaptation”(2) linked to the diversity of places and practices reproduced over generations, generating ecological knowledge, memory, and local practices.

Bosque Pehuén began receiving researchers from different regions more frequently starting in 2014. Since then, various practices and theses have been developed in fields such as forest resource engineering, ecology, and sociology, among others. Our conservation project coordinator, Sebastián Carrasco, notes that some of the regional universities that have collaborated with us include Universidad de La Frontera (UFRO) and Universidad Católica de Temuco (UCT).
Through research and even short-term practices lasting three weeks to a month, the aim has been to gather information and generate evaluative reports. “This data helps to enrich the management plan and objectives we have as a private protected area, in communication with academia, institutions, civil society, and local and Indigenous communities,” he explains.

Carrasco adds that a significant part of the conservation strategies align with monitoring practices, such as installing camera traps, controlling threats, and detecting invasive species. At the same time, he emphasizes the social role linked to education by enabling professional training within a natural reserve, as well as the reciprocity of this space, where field investigations deepen our understanding of socio-ecosystem conservation.
In this way, Carrasco continues, various theses “have allowed us to understand the impacts of threats and generate information that contributes to developing control strategies and evidence-based decision-making.” He also highlights the importance of this territory for headwater basin studies—in this case, the Toltén—and the opportunity to compare findings with other conservation sites in the Andean Araucanía region.
Finally, the biologist specializing in natural resource management explains that the research agenda at Bosque Pehuén addresses the socioecological crisis by studying invasive species to generate effective control strategies, and analyzing meteorological data—through collaboration with Universidad Austral. These efforts aim to provide data to support decision-making by communities in nearby territories, linked to governance and local and Indigenous science practices.

In line with this, our foundation’s conservation team—also composed of director Tomás Altamirano and evaluation and studies coordinator Felipe Guarda—is contributing to the creation of a wildfire prevention plan based on risk detection derived from factors such as air humidity and temperature.

Below, we highlight some of the research projects that demonstrate the breadth and diversity of topics and challenges addressed by scientific and professional groups from various fields at Bosque Pehuén. This summary does not include most of the residency programs hosted in the territory, which further enrich the list of creative explorations with artistic and scientific perspectives in support of transdisciplinarity. Here, the emphasis is on conservation-linked research, although many of these have inspired artistic creations or informed FMA’s learning initiatives.

Generating New Knowledge and Perspectives

• Trees as Subjects of Study: One of the main objectives of a scientific team from the Canopy Biodiversity and Ecology Laboratory (LabDosel) at the Universidad Austral de Chile (UACh) (3)—comprising Iván Díaz, Daniela Mellado, and Javier Godoy—was to study forest regeneration. From 2014 to 2019, they explored how forest structure can be understood by treating trees as subjects of study. Using arborist techniques, they accessed the highest parts of the canopy. They investigated the epiphyte (4) biodiversity in coihue trees (Nothofagus dombeyi), finding an abundance of mosses—17 species were recorded in the canopy. This led to the creation of Chile’s first canopy moss collection, donated to the National Museum of Natural History. They also recorded previously undocumented fauna, revealing that the canopy is a permanent habitat for animals such as the pictus lizard (Liolaemus pictus) and the Chilean rose tarantula (Grammostola rosea). Additionally, they conducted the first canopy microclimate study in Chile—among the first globally. Another research focus was regeneration following the intensive logging that impacted the forest in the 1970s, monitored through permanent plots. Among the findings was a widespread presence of deadwood and standing dead trees—so-called biological legacies.
• Collaboratively Protecting Araucarias: Starting in 2018, in collaboration with UC Davis, CONAF, and local stakeholders, a joint conservation plan was developed for the pewen (Araucaria, in Mapudungun). Since this species is present in Bosque Pehuén, the reserve is a key site for studying the causes and potential solutions to Araucaria Foliar Damage (AFD)(6), a disease that poses a serious threat to this natural heritage. Preliminary results suggest that AFD affects 93% of the araucarias in the area, including those in Bosque Pehuén. The main cause appears to be the Phytophthora fungus, likely triggered by vascular system imbalances within the trees—imbalances in turn driven by drought conditions in the region. Multiple factors are at play, but all evidence points to climate change as the root cause of the disease affecting the araucaria.
• Arboreal Habits of the Monito del Monte: In 2018, the same team of scientists from the Universidad Austral—Godoy, Díaz, Mellado, and others—published a study that revealed new insights into the movement habits of the monito del monte (Dromiciops gliroides). Observing life in the canopy and the vertical profile of the forest, alongside an exhaustive inventory of species and biodiversity, they used camera traps placed in coihue trees over 25 meters high. They discovered that this species plays a key role in seed dispersal for at least 22 epiphyte and plant species and helps control pests by feeding on various insects. The study was published in Ecosphere (Vol 9, Issue 10), a scientific journal of the Ecological Society of America.

• Scanning a Forest: In 2020, a study was conducted with GEOCOM(7), a spatial solutions company that provided high-tech equipment to observe the forest’s structure—soil, understory, and canopy—at millimeter scale. The devices emitted light pulses while rotating, which bounced back to generate a profile of the forest and photographic mosaics. With this high spatial resolution, researchers were able to measure the real size, diameter, height, and volume of a tree without disturbing its surface. As a result, monitoring plots in Bosque Pehuén were expanded to obtain precise data on internal forest dynamics. Engineers also scanned araucarias to assess their health in relation to AFD, which affects 93% of trees in the region. Carlos Mendoza, former Conservation Director of FMA (2016–2020), explained that they wanted to detect structural changes before symptoms of the disease appeared. He also recalled being inspired by the album Sonidos del ALMA (8), which used star light coordinates to produce sounds. Following the GEOCOM study, musician Gregorio Fontén was invited to create sonic narratives of the araucaria forest using the recorded data. Mendoza emphasized that “the araucaria has immense biocultural value, is protected, and has been relatively under-researched. The transdisciplinary nature of this research illustrates the importance of working from the complexity of natural spaces to interpret the environment through new lenses. The araucaria perfectly exemplifies this complexity, especially in a place like this—once exploited, now a reimagined nature reserve.”

• A Key Area for Amphibian Conservation(9): The Study on Population Dynamics of Terrestrial Vertebrate Fauna was one of the first inquiries of its kind in the area. Led by scientist and environmental educator Pamela Sánchez from UCT between 2021 and 2022, the study focused on establishing a methodological(10) baseline and observing seasonal population dynamics. “The analysis allowed us to identify the various ecosystems present and understand the characteristics of this territory, composed mostly of native forest and hosting a valuable network of watersheds and micro-watersheds, creating a unique combination of wetlands and forests ideal for ecological study.” Among the most significant findings (11) was the richness of amphibian species, described as “excellent bioindicators of atmospheric and relative humidity conditions in an ecosystem,” confirming that this territory is critical for their conservation. Sánchez added: “From an integrated natural resource perspective, Bosque Pehuén regulates climate, hydrological cycles, and soils, and supports high biodiversity through its flora, fauna, forest types, and landscape configuration. It’s a true open-air laboratory, where ecological, ethical, cultural, and heritage values converge, as well as an educational and creative space that allows the application of science and technology to ecosystem care”.
• Bonsai Trees as a Potential Regeneration Mechanism
  Another research line, emerging from explorations led by ecologist Iván Díaz of the Canopy Ecology and Biodiversity Laboratory, focused on the epiphytic habits of certain plants and seedlings growing in the forest canopy. In a sample of 99 trees, 21% had seedlings or saplings growing in their canopies. The largest individual in the canopy was a small coihue (Nothofagus dombeyi) growing 15 meters above the main trunk of another tree, and it was 59 years old. The oldest canopy tree recorded was a small raulí (Nothofagus nervosa) located 8.4 meters above the ground and aged 114 years. According to the research team, these canopy-dwelling bonsai-like trees could represent a mechanism of regeneration in old-growth, undisturbed forests.

Reference:

(1) Located in the Palguín Alto area, between the Villarrica (Rucapillan) and Quetrupillán volcanoes, this open-air laboratory is a meeting ground for diverse biocultural knowledge systems.

(2) According to Ramsar.org, the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance.

(3) The LabDosel is the first laboratory in Chile dedicated to these studies, and Bosque Pehuén has become the country’s primary canopy research site.

(4)  Epiphytic plants are those that grow on other plants without negatively affecting any of their organs or functions. They use the structure of host plants as physical support, often relying on the trunks and branches of older trees to reach greater heights and access sunlight.

(5) The biodiversity monitoring of the plots, combined with other data and laboratory modeling, made it possible in 2016 to develop a new zoning plan for Bosque Pehuén, based on the level of protection and potential regeneration of each hectare. This knowledge can be applied to guide conservation measures in other parks, properties, or territories in need.

(6) The biodiversity monitoring of the plots, combined with other data and laboratory modeling, led to a new zoning of Bosque Pehuén in 2016, based on the level of protection and potential for regeneration of each hectare. This knowledge can be applied to inform conservation measures in other parks, properties, or territories in need.

(7) The research was carried out by geomatics engineers Osvaldo Neira and José Salas, under the direction of David Santos from Geocom.

(8)  Atacama Large Millimeter/submilliter Array (ALMA).

(9) Four of the eight species classified as threatened—either Endangered or Vulnerable—in this territory are amphibians. These include Rhinoderma darwinii (Darwin’s frog) and Alsodes verrucosus (spiny-chested toad), both listed as Endangered, as well as Eupsophus roseus (rosy ground frog) and Eupsophus vertebralis, both categorized as Vulnerable.

(10) A baseline is the initial point of reference used to assess the impact of an intervention or project over time. It describes the current situation of an area or population before the intervention is implemented, allowing for later comparison to measure progress or outcomes.

(11) A total of 80 species of terrestrial vertebrates have been recorded in Bosque Pehuén, including 25 species of mammals such as the puma, güiña, and culpeo fox; 44 species of birds, including raptors like the white-throated hawk, rufous-legged owl, and austral pygmy owl; 4 species of reptiles; and 7 species of native amphibians, among them the warty-chested toad (Alsodes verrucosus) and Darwin’s frog (Rhinoderma darwinii), both classified as endangered by Chile’s Ministry of the Environment (D.S. 42/2011 MMA).

(12) From the Institute of Conservation, Biodiversity and Territory (ICBTe) at the Universidad Austral de Chile.

(13) Epiphytic plants are those that grow on other plants without negatively affecting any of their organs or functions. They use the structure of other plants as physical support, relying on the trunks and branches of older trees to reach greater heights and capture sunlight.