By Emma Dempsey, Carleton College
Hello friends, family, and fans!
Team Puma is enjoying our first couple days at basecamp after our big expedition. We ended our trip to Puerto Eden with a few days camping at the property of the Arratia family, where the first harvest of sphagnum in the Aysen Region started last year. Sphagnum sp. is a spongy moss that covers the ground in peatlands and the wetter sections of Coigue (Nothofagus spp.) forests. It can hold an incredible amount of water, which makes it a valuable and versatile product (diapers, shampoo, horticulture, etc.) as well as a fun and precarious tromping ground.
Sphagnum’s epic water retention ability also means that its removal can have immense impacts on a region’s hydrology. Machine harvest on on the island of Chiloe farther north was associated with changes in water storage and availability. With the first Sphagnum harvests in Aysen region, Round River was invited to conduct some baseline studies on the impacts of the harvest process on hydrology and other ecosystem processes, and collect information about the projected rate of re-growth.
While staying at Campo Arratia we were able to get the scoop about the collection process from the two harvesters that work there (shout out to Walter and Alex who had us over for some delicious bread and jam and respite from the cold). They expressed a certain degree of confidence that the region has not yet entered the spiral of destruction that transformed Chiloé. Alex and Walter are harvesting exclusively with ganchos, a sort of hoe pictured below, instead of with big machinery that rips up everything indiscriminately. They think that their harvest is slow enough and shallow enough, and that the climate is rainy enough that the sphagnum will grow back in the next decade and continue its hydraulic duties.
Eli models the gancho, the sphagnum harvesting tool. Photo credit: Emma Sevier.
That said there is a lot at stake for the region if the harvest turns out to be more destructive than the workers expect, and no data to support their predictions that the harvest is sustainable. And that is where we come in:
A large part of our time at campo Arratia was spent walking transects set up by last semester’s students and collecting data on water table and sphagnum height in harvested and un-harvested areas. We also set up a few new plots in an area that we hope will remain unharvest for a while. Our goal is that in a few years we will have a pretty good idea of the rate of sphagnum regrowth, and of the extent to which this style of harvest affects the water table. We hope to learn what sustainable sphagnum harvest could look like to protect Patagonia’s bog ecosystem and all of its services. For our final project, Sara, Emma S. and I (Sphagnum Team!!) will spend the rest of the semester analyzing our current data and thinking about the future of the project.
Eli, Emma S., and Shannon pick sphagnum from our freshly made plot. Photo credit: Sara Wall.
Creating new plots was some of the most fun I have had in Patagonia. Plopping down on a bed of sphagnum to measure plot sizes, sink in stakes, and pull out handfuls of sphagnum to simulate harvest was indescribably satisfying. No one escaped a day without toppling at least to their knees into the bog and filling their boots with water, but once we gave up on keeping dry and surrendered to the power of sphagnum, passing the days on Campo Arratia was a treat. Below are some more highlights:
Bags of harvested Sphagnum, ready for transport. Photo credit Shalynn Pack.
Sphagnum bog with trampled trail from historic Ciprés harvest. Photo Credit: Shalynn Pack.
Ivan experiences the Sphagnum bog with all of his senses, tasting the water.
Group photo with Team Puma and the Arratia’s Don Cristian and Doña Rosa. Photo credit: Shalynn Pack.
Sara and Emma S. work on a performance before generously donating their bamboo sticks to act as corners on our new plots. Photo Credit: Emma Dempsey.
I am excited to analyze the data we’ve collected so far and for Team Zorro to visit Campo Arratia later in the semester. For now, both teams are hanging around base camp, taking classes, and hitting the town as we prep for homestays later this week. Life is good here in Patagonia and there is a lot to be excited about.
Best wishes,
Emma D.