Bodefales en el norte de Chile: una visión general desde la perspectiva de los rasgos hidráulicos de la vegetación a la conservación biológica

Abstract

In the face of the increasing natural resource demands, soil erosion and climatic variability, the management of the Andean peatlands (bofedals) and wetlands (vegas) for conservation, production or other multiple uses is an important issue. These agroecosystems are considered critical for livestock feeding in the highlands due to the presence of plant species of high digestibility, protein content and biomass. Overgrazing, human migration and drought are currently the main problems affecting the Andean peatlands. The impact of climatic variability and overgrazing on plant water relationships and their combined effects on plant growth traits may be used as an important predictive tool for ecological health and sustainable management in these Andean landscapes. The main objectives of this review were to demonstrate the need to expand knowledge of the highland peatlands, based on concepts related to sustainability (associated with the carrying capacity), and the important role of physiological monitoring of vegetation, since the different rainfall regimes present in these natural areas represent an interesting scenario to assess the impacts of climate variability.