Low Intensity Breeding of Native Forest Trees in Argentina

Global climate change requires the development of programs that consider the active restoration of degraded forests and the use of native trees in afforestation to preserve the natural environment. International commitments like the UN REDD program, the Montréal Process and the Convention on Biological Diversity call for the breeding of species rarely contemplated by large industrial companies. Low-intensity breeding is the most rational strategy for those species: simple but robust, and not dependent on continuously increasing funding, and therefore effective even with a relatively small budget. It commonly focuses on high genetic diversity rather than improving economic traits and adaptability rather than productivity. Controlled crosses with full pedigrees typical of high-intensity breeding are replaced by open pollination.

Low Intensity Breeding of Native Forest Trees in Argentina presents state-of-the-art breeding strategies from the last two decades for several forest tree species of prime importance in the natural forests of Argentina. They are distributed in the three main forestry ecoregions of the country: the subtropical dry forest (Chaco), the subtropical rain forests (Yungas and Alto Paraná rainforests) and the temperate forests of Patagonia. The book also discusses the genetic patterns of the selected species defined using genetic markers together with the analysis of the variation in quantitative traits. Further, it examines the crucial features of their reproductive biology, such as the mating system and gene flow and describes the current breeding programs. Lastly, it presents the latest developments in genetic resources and their emerging applications, concluding with some reflections and perspectives related to the conditioning imposed by climate change.

Chapter 1 - Native forests claim for breeding in Argentina: general concepts and their state

Section I - Temperate Subantarctic Forests
Chapter 2 - Temperate Subantarctic Forests: a huge natural laboratory
Chapter 3 - Rauli (Nothofagus alpina = N. nervosa): the best quality hardwood in Patagonia
Chapter 4 - Roble pellin (Nothofagus obliqua): a southern beech with a restricted distribution area in Argentina but a wide environmental range
Chapter 5 - Nothofagus Mixed Forest: a breeding program for an interspecific hybridization system
Chapter 6 - Patterns of genetic variation of lenga (Nothofagus pumilio) and nire (Nothofagus antarctica): the most widely distributed and cold tolerant southern beeches in Patagonia
Chapter 7 - Patagonian Cypres (Austrocedrus chilensis): the cedarwood of the emblematic architecture of North Patagonia
Chapter 8 - Other species pf high ecological value

Section II - Subtropical Dry Forests
Chapter 9 - Subtropical dry forests: the main forest ecoregion of Argentina
Chapter 10 - Genetic variation patterns of algarrobos (Prosopis sp.) from "Gran Chaco Americano" (P. alba, P. nigra, P. hassleri, P. chilensis and P. flexuosa)
Chapter 11 - Genetic breeding of Prosopis species from "Gran Chaco Americano"
Chapter 12 - Species without current breeding relevance but high economic value

Section III - Subtropical Rainforests
Chapter 13 - Subtropical rainforests: the Yungas and the Paranaense Rainforest
Chapter 14 - Patterns of neutral genetic variation for three high-value cedar species from the Subtropical Rainforests of Argentina
Chapter 15 - Breeding strategy for the Cedrela genus in Argentina
Chapter 16 - Pino Parana (Araucaria angustifolia): the most planted native forest tree species in Argentina
Chapter 17 - Peteribi (Cordia trichotoma), Lapacho (Handroanthus impetiginosus) and Cebil (Anadenanthera colubrina var. cebil): three valuable species with incipient breeding programs

Section IV - Other species, new tools and final considerations
Chapter 18 - Applications of High-Throughput Sequencing technologies on native forest tree species of Argentina and implications for low intensity breeding programs
Chapter 19 - Questions, perspectives and final considerations under the global climate change conditioning