Lophozonia macrocarpa

The forest ecosystems in the central zone of Chile, where a significant part of the species belonging to Nothofagus genus grow, have been subjected to intensive exploitation pressure for more than 300 years. Nothofagus macrocarpa populations have been subjected to strong anthropogenic alterations, despite the fact that they are a potential biodiversity niche for the different communities that are living within them (Veblen 1996). A recent study carried out by (Delgado-Flores et al. 2010) studied the above ground biomass accumulation and growth in a secondary N. macrocarpa forest. It was found that the study site that the species has a coppice structure, where several sprouts develop from each stump or rootstock; which is likely to be due to degradation in the area such as; low precipitation, warm summers and cold winters with snow, and important degradation due to anthropic activity. Additionally, given its sensitivity, the species represents an outstanding element for the monitoring of global climate changes. The main threats to this species is logging, conversion of land use and climate change.

There is limited mention of Nothofagus macrocarpa in the literature, mainly due to the fact that until few years ago, this was considered as a variety of N. obliqua species (Delgado-Flores et al. 2010. There are currently two ex situ collections of this species f(BGCI 2018). There are two subpopulations found in national parks; one in La Campana National Park and one in Altos de Lircay National Reserve. The rate of habitat loss and population decline should be monitored and greater in situ conservation effort would be valuable.