Ecosystem services mediated by plant-animal interactions in a context of change of land use in the northwest Argentine



The proximity to forests facilitates the access of pollinators to crops, an ecosystem service whose impact is evaluated within the framework of the project.

The proximity to forests facilitates the access of pollinators to crops, an ecosystem service whose impact is evaluated within the framework of the project.

Responsible: Dr. Pedro G. Blendinger.

Funding: Universidad Nacional de Tucumán (Project code: PIUNT 2018- #G609).

Abstract: we plan to generate quantitative information on plant-pollinator systems in natural, urban and agricultural ecosystems of NW Argentina. We will use four study systems to assess the role of pollination as a key ecological process in natural ecosystems and as an important ecosystem service in Dry Chaco and Yungas of NW Argentina. In the conceptual framework of plant-animal interactions as providers of ecological functions and ecosystem services which are susceptible of alterations promoted by land use changes associated with human activities, we propose to study four study systems ("components") and seven specific objectives related to (i) provision of ecosystem services to soybean fields in the Dry Chaco; (ii) provision of ecosystem services to blueberry cultivars in Premontane Forests and the reciprocal effects of cultivated and natural vegetation that share pollinators; (iii) evaluation of changes in the structure of pollination networks in Yungas forest associated with logging; (iv) evaluation of changes in the structure of pollination networks in a natural-urban gradient in Yungas forest. The project has an important component of field work, both observational and experimental.

Members:

Director: Pedro G. Blendinger.

Co-director: Natacha Chacoff.

Researchers: Andrés Ramírez-Mejía, Alejandro Amado, Julieta Carrasco, Candela Russo, Julieta Magro, Roxana Aragón, Silvia Lomáscolo, Carolina Monmany.

Contact: blendinger@birdecology.com.ar