Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity

Assessing the spatio-temporal cumulative drought effects on two Mediterranean forest types in Central Chile

Droughts are long-lasting events that can drive persistent functional changes in ecosystems, particularly in drought-prone areas like Mediterranean forests. We integrated a phenology-based anomaly method, combining kernel density estimation (KDE) with cumulative sums (CUSUMs) to...

Limited global awareness of invasive alien species and little support for their management

Invasive alien species (IAS) are one of the main drivers of global change and can cause a wide range of negative ecological and social impacts. Addressing these impacts requires management actions, which can fail to be effective when not supported by the public. Here, we conducte...

Sink prioritization after carbon stress in Quillaja saponaria, a tree species endemic to Mediterranean Chile

Context For plant species adapted to drought, such as those inhabiting Mediterranean regions, carbon (C) allocation to traits related to drought resistance could occur at the expense of growth. Aims We hypothesized that in conditions of C limitation, drought-adapted species prior...

Multiple drivers and long-term patterns of the ecology of segregation in Latin America

Segregation is a multidimensional phenomenon deeply entwined with historical, social, and ecological contexts. The ecology of segregation framework explores how social norms institutionalize racism, classism, and power dynamics to drive inequitable patterns of environmental benef...

Morphological and Molecular Evidence Supports Recognition of Austrochondria Gen. Nov. (Rhodomelaceae, Rhodophyta) for the Chilean Endemic Laurencia chilensis

Many red algal species described solely from morphology have historically been assigned to inappropriate genera because of superficial morphological similarity. Laurencia chilensis, originally described for specimens from Chile, has long been recognized as the only representative...

A framework to compare the performance of spatial disaggregation methods of statistical climate downscaling in South America

Study region Chile and South America. Study focus Climate change is simulated at a coarse scale with General Circulation Models. Impact and regional studies require downscaling to increase spatial resolution. Several downscaling methods exist, but most studies do not analyze or c...