Conference title: Forests as hubs of biodiversity and ecosystem services in the anthropocene
Date and location: March 24-27, 2026; Coyhaique, Chile
Thanks to our more than 350 participants from all continents and over 36 countries, who made Chilean Patagonia, Coyhaique, and the Aysén Region the global epicenter of forest science during these days, with 5 pre-conference courses in three days, numerous symposia and keynote sessions, more than 300 academic abstracts, 5 simultaneous field trips, more than 20 exhibitors, over 5 meetings with the productive sector, decision-makers, companies and local producers, and the valuable support of 10 IFSA volunteers. A warm Patagonian embrace to all.
The field trip begins with an APL (Acuerdo de Producción Limpia, Spanish acronym) experience in native forests. Participants will learn how this voluntary agreement between public institutions and private landowners promotes sustainable forest management, livestock exclusion, and improved environmental performance at the farm level.
The second stop focuses on a silvopastoral experimental system, combining Pinus contorta plantations and grasslands. Participants will observe different management designs, discuss forage productivity, tree growth, and soil protection, and evaluate trade-offs between production and conservation under Patagonian conditions.
This field trip includes a visit to a silvopastoral experimental site, integrating forest and livestock production through Pinus contorta plantations and grasslands.
Participants will observe experimental management treatments, including traditional and strip-based designs, and discuss forage productivity, tree growth, and soil protection. The visit provides an opportunity to analyze the productive and environmental performance of silvopastoral systems under Patagonian conditions.
The final stop addresses the estimation of carbon balance under property-level forest management, where participants will examine spatially explicit management units (rehabilitation areas, selective harvesting, protection zones, and livestock exclusion fences) and discuss how forest management, grazing control, and restoration actions contribute to carbon sequestration and ecosystem services at the landscape scale.
Location: Lepín and Mano Negra sector; Carretera Austral km 27, Coyhaique
The table below outlines the sequence of field trip stops included in this one-day itinerary.
Stop 1: APL Native Forest (Coyhaique) under a Forest Management Planning Model Organized by: CONAF- Trahuilco, Ltd. agricultural, livestock and forestry company. |
Stop 2: Visit to the silvopastoral trial: forest and livestock production through Pinus contorta plantations and pastures Organized by: INFOR |
Stop 3: Estimation of Carbon Balance under Property-Level Management in the Humid Boreal Ecoregion of the Aysén Region Organized by: CONAF |
Organizing institutions: CONAF and INFOR
