Land cover change to forest plantations: proximate causes and implications for the landscape in south-central Chile

This research paper analyzes the proximate drivers of timber plantation expansion in south-central Chile between 1975 and 2007, finding that plantations grew from 5.5% to 42.4% of the landscape, often through the clearing of secondary native forests.

• Between 1975 and 2007, timber plantations—primarily Pinus radiata—expanded significantly in south-central Chile, increasing from 29,213 ha (5.5% of the landscape) to 224,716 ha (42.4% of the landscape). This represents a ten-fold growth over 32 years at an annual rate of 6.4% (6,375 ha per year).
• The drivers of expansion were more distinct between 1975 and 1990, where growth was linked to corporate landholding, large farms, proximity to main cities, steep slopes, and soils suitable for forests. By the 1990–2007 period, some of these drivers lost significance as plantations became the dominant land cover and expanded in all directions.
• Plantation expansion has directly caused deforestation and biodiversity loss in Chile. Specifically, 41.5% of new plantations between 1975 and 1990 and 22.8% between 1990 and 2007 were established by clearing secondary native forests.

APA

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (2025). Land cover change to forest plantations: proximate causes and implications for the landscape in south-central Chile. https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/land-cover-change-to-forest-plantations-proximate-causes-and-implications-for-the-landscape-in-south-central-chile/

Chicago

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. Land cover change to forest plantations: proximate causes and implications for the landscape in south-central Chile. 2025. https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/land-cover-change-to-forest-plantations-proximate-causes-and-implications-for-the-landscape-in-south-central-chile/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |title=Land cover change to forest plantations: proximate causes and implications for the landscape in south-central Chile |date=17 January 2025 |url=https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/land-cover-change-to-forest-plantations-proximate-causes-and-implications-for-the-landscape-in-south-central-chile/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{interamericaninstituteforglobalchangeresearch2025land, author = {{Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}}, title = {{Land cover change to forest plantations: proximate causes and implications for the landscape in south-central Chile}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, year = {2025}, month = jan, url = {https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/land-cover-change-to-forest-plantations-proximate-causes-and-implications-for-the-landscape-in-south-central-chile/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }