Patagonian Wetlands: Vertientes, vegas, mallines, turberas, and lagunas

Abstract

Patagonian wetlands contribute significantly to regional biodiversity, and also fulfill a wide range of economic and service functions such as water storage and purification, carbon sequestration, pasturelands, nutrient cycling, food production and recreation. Despite covering less than 7% of the region, they exhibit a wide climatic, geomorphologic and physicochemical variability that drives their biodiversity. Moreover, significant differences are expected not only in their ecological conditions, but also in the main uses they are subjected to, and the subsequent threats they face. Therefore, among others, vertientes (springs) and lagunas (shallow lakes and ponds) are used as drinking water sources, vegas and mallines as pasturelands and turberas (peat bogs) for peat extraction. The global loss of wetlands biodiversity through increase in human pressures and emerging threats like climate change, demands concerted actions based on adequate knowledge about ecosystems dynamics and functioning, to halt their deterioration and sustain the valuable services they provide. Despite being essential for the regional economy, Patagonian wetlands are still far from meeting global conservation targets, with less than 3% of those in arid and semiarid Patagonia being located within protected areas. This chapter aims at summarizing current ecological knowledge on the main Patagonian wetland types, their current uses and the threats they face, and detecting knowledge gaps to be filled in future studies.