Invasive Insects in Forest Plantations of Argentina: Ecological Patterns and Implications for Management

Abstract

Since the dawn of modern agriculture, humans have selected a few several species from the immense diversity nature has to offer, resulting in the same species being cultivated in very different countries and regions. Crops such as wheat, maize, apples, or rice are grown worldwide, resulting in staple food for a large proportion of the world population. This is because there are obvious benefits in planting such species as, for example, those determined by the availability of very appropriate climate and soil conditions in many different regions which result in high yields. Also, agronomical knowledge and technology have often been previously acquired for these species, including a genetic understanding and manipulation aimed at increasing harvest success. And, of course, there is the existence of an already well-established globalized consumer’s market for the produce. Plantation forestry is a less known, yet remarkable example of this. A few pines and eucalypts are grown massively outside their native range, achieving remarkable growth rates, which are rarely, if ever, observed within their native distribution range (Wingfield et al. 2015). According to FAO Global Forest Resources Assessment 2015, plantation forestry has been estimated to be 7% of all forests (covering 264,084,000 ha of the world’s surface area), among which a quarter is of non-native tree species. However, in some regions, such as South America, the proportion of non-native tree species in plantation forestry can be higher than 90%.