This field trip combines forest management planning on state-owned lands and a demonstration module for watercourse protection within the Simpson River sub-basin, Aysén Region, Chilean Patagonia.

The field trip begins with a visit to a Forest Management Planning Model applied to state-owned Patagonian native forests, located in the Lago Frío sector, approximately 30 km from the city of Coyhaique. At this stop, participants will become familiar with planning criteria and management approaches used by public institutions for the administration and management of fiscal forest lands.

The visit then continues to the Cerro Galera sector, where participants will visit a demonstration site of riparian ecological restoration, continuously managed since 2008, aimed at the protection and recovery of degraded stream channels. This stop will showcase riparian management strategies based on the establishment of riparian buffer zones, together with techniques such as slope reshaping, check-dam construction, erosion control, and revegetation using native species such as Salix spp. and Nothofagus antarctica.

Participants will have the opportunity to discuss long-term restoration experiences, their effectiveness in protecting watercourses, and their contribution to the geomorphological and ecological stability of Patagonian fluvial systems.

The table below outlines the sequence of field trip stops included in this one-day itinerary.

Organizing institutions: CONAF and INFOR