Land Use Changes and Conflicts in Central Chile
In mediterranean-climate regions (MCRs), historical and geographical as well as ecological approaches are needed to elucidate processes and patterns occurring at that rarely defined level of complexity called “landscape”. In the case of Chile, a glance at
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9.1 Introduction In mediterranean-climate regions (MCRs), historical and geographical as well as ecological approaches are needed to elucidate processes and patterns occurring at that rarely defined level of complexity called "landscape". In the case of Chile, a glance at the past five centuries of history is particularly crucial to the understanding of the various impacts of landscape degradation. Furthermore, to aid in our attempt to combine both ecological and human geographical considerations, we will borrow the "three waves" paradigm of sociologist Alvin Toffler (l980). Toffler was, of course, dealing with all of human history, and at the full planetary scale. Here we will be zooming in on the so-called secano interior, or "interior drylands", of the subhumid region of the Chilean MCR. 9.1.1 "Landscape"? According to the definition of Forman and Godron (1986) which most ecologists seem to accept, landscapes comprise "a recognizable cluster of ecosystems" interacting somehow with one another in an undefined space predicted to be about several krrr'. This definition is attractive because it fits so well with prevailing notions of "ecosystem" (Likens 1992). Yet, a purely materialistic definition of "landscape" hinders collaboration with most geographers and other social scientists, since it fails to address past and present human activities, customs, sentiments, etc. In what follows, we will address human as well as non-human determinants of change, degradation and diversity.
Ecological Studies , Vol. 136 Rundel et al. (eds.) Landscape Degradation and Biodiversity in Mediterranean-Type Ecosystem s © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 1998
J. Aronso n et al.
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9.2 The Secano Interior of Central Chile 9.2.1 Overview
Within the secano interior (Fig. 9.1), we will deal only with the subhumid zone, the area lying some 250 to 400km south of Santiago, equal to some 40% ofthe total secano interior area. In this subhumid zone (ca. 35°-37°5; 600- 1000mm mean annual rainfall), corresponding roughly to the central valley of the 7th and 8th Administrative Regions of Chile, over 144000
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33° 350ha) in the secano interior. Since over 85% of secano farms are under 35ha, and of these over 57% are under lOha (Sarah 1979), and since the cost of living is increasing rapidly, it is not surprising that secano farmers are tempted to sell off portions of their lands. In some cases, of Table 9.1. Area of annual tree planting over a 20-year period in representative districts of the 7th Region lying in the secano interior, as compared to the ent ire 7th and 8th Regions, and all of central Chile (Pizarro 1993; CONAF, unpub\. data) Region
7th Region Licanten Vichuquen Hualafte Pencahue Curepto Empedrado Cauquenes Total 8th Region (total) Central Chile (4th-10th Regions)
Total area (ha)
45 49 54 91 108 112 225 3480 > 3800 24485
Tree plantation area (ha X 1000) 1974-1982
1983-1992
Total"
4.9 5.0 4.0 3.2 9.4 10.7 24.0 106 324 688
4.7 9.5 6.7 6.2 11.9 11.1 18.8 151 289 761
8.6 14.5 10.7 9.4 21.3
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