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Peatlands as Key Ecosystems for Water Provision on Chiloé Island (Southern Chile): Social-Ecological Issues

  • Ecosystem Services of Wetlands
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Abstract

In this article, we analyze the perceptions of rural social actors and experts on the peatlands of Chiloé Island, a Chilean epigenic system with low hills. We used a social-ecological survey (N = 228), structured interviews (N = 8), and an economic valuation of the ecosystem service of drinking water in the Quemchi commune (municipality) to answer whether the rural population still values peatlands in Chiloé. Results show a South to North gradient on increasing loss in peatlands surface. Rural people showed low direct use of peatland services, and few of them have noticed areal changes. Experts agreed that local people do not have enough education and knowledge about peatlands. The economic valuation showed that although peatlands could cover between 5 and 27% of the water needed for Quemchi, only 1.9% of its rural population uses this water source and no other communes. We discuss results regarding current peatlands policies in Chile and the need to transfer knowledge to local communities.

Resumen

En este artículo analizamos las percepciones de actores sociales rurales y expertos respecto de las turberas de la Isla de Chiloé, un sistema epigénico chileno con lomas bajas. Utilizamos una encuesta socioecológica (N = 228), entrevistas estructuradas (N = 8) y una valoración económica del servicio ecosistémico de agua potable en la comuna (municipio) de Quemchi para responder si la población rural aún valora las turberas en Chiloé. Los resultados muestran un gradiente de sur a norte de aumento en la pérdida en la superficie de las turberas. La población rural mostró un bajo uso directo de los servicios de las turberas y pocos de ellos han notado cambios en su área. Los expertos coincidieron en que la población local no tiene suficiente educación ni conocimiento sobre las turberas. La valoración económica mostró que, si bien las turberas podrían cubrir entre el 5% y el 27% del agua que necesita Quemchi, solo el 1,9% de su población rural utiliza esta fuente de agua y ninguna otra comuna. En este artículo discutimos los resultados sobre las políticas actuales de turberas en Chile y la necesidad de transferir conocimientos a las comunidades locales.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon request.

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Funding

This work was supported by Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo, Chile (Proyecto Fondecyt Regular Nº 1170532).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratorio de Modelación Ecológica, Departamento de Ciencias Ecológicas, Facultad de Ciencias Universidad de Chile, PO Box 653, Santiago, Chile

    Víctor H. Marín, Ailan Villalón-Cueto & Claudio Arriaza-Mancini

  2. Fundación CTF, Padre Mariano 391, Oficina 704, Providencia, Santiago, Chile

    Luisa E. Delgado

  3. Escuela de Ciencias, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, PO Box 653, Santiago, Chile

    Luisa E. Delgado

Authors
  1. Víctor H. Marín
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  2. Ailan Villalón-Cueto
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  3. Claudio Arriaza-Mancini
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  4. Luisa E. Delgado
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Contributions

Luisa E. Delgado and Víctor H. Marín contributed to the study’s conception and design. Data collection was performed by Ailan Villalón-Cueto, and Claudio Arriaza-Mancini. Data analysis was performed by Luisa E. Delgado, Ailan Villalón-Cueto, Claudio Arriaza-Mancini, and Víctor H. Marín. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Víctor H. Marín. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Víctor H. Marín.

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Marín, V.H., Villalón-Cueto, A., Arriaza-Mancini, C. et al. Peatlands as Key Ecosystems for Water Provision on Chiloé Island (Southern Chile): Social-Ecological Issues. Wetlands 42, 47 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-022-01571-5

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