New Fulbrighter for Tierra del Fuego

Fulbright logoYet again, OSARA has helped facilitate a successful Fulbright application to work in Patagonia. This time, Dr. Erik Nielsen from Northern Arizona University (NAU) will recieve the award to conduct a sabbatical from January till May 2016. During that time he will offer two courses at the National University of Tierra del Fuego. One will be on social dimensions of conservation and the other about interdisciplinary teaching practices for university professors. In addition, he will conduct research in association with the Austral Center for Scientific Research concerning the social and institutional aspects of conservation, including control of invasive beavers and restoration of native forests.

New Publication on Restoration in Tierra del Fuego

cover_erA recent publication in the journal Ecological Restoration, led by Fulbrighter and NatGeo Young Explorer Jonathan Henn, finds that survival of transplated lenga (Nothofagus pumilio) seedlings in abandoned beaver meadows depends largely on the abiotic conditions of microhabitats within the meadow and the invasion of herbaceous (often exotic) plants. The research, coordinated under the guidance of Dr. Guillermo Martinez Pastur (ECO-Link Senior Personnel) and Dr. Christopher Anderson (ECO-Link PI), is the first pilot effort in Tierra del Fuego to conduct active forest restoration, which is one of the goals of the binational agreement between Chile and Argentina regarding the management of the invasive beaver.