has left an important legacy of inadequately abandoned tailing storage facilities (TSFs) in the north-central area of Chile, and they may pose environmental risks. The Chilean government has recently established new regulations governing the closure of TSFs, and these regulations favor the use of environmentally sustainable technologies. Among these technologies is phytostabilization, which can use native plant species that may also have economic and/or subsistence value. Phytostabilization programs based on sustainably maintained native species could also contribute to the conservation of both local fl ora and regional ecosystems in north-central Chile. The main objective of this study was to use the Coquimbo Region as a case study area to look for added economic value from native plant species that have spontaneously colonized abandoned TSFs and to look for other species that, given their ecological characteristics, may be established on post-operational TSFs by phytostabilization. A review of technical, scientifi c and ethnobotanic literature on traditional uses and recently discovered uses of selected plant species was performed. The results showed that 68 spontaneously colonizing phytostabilization species have at least one known use, while 420 species with potential for use in phytostabilization (28% of the regional native fl ora) have various uses. Ornamentation, cattle forage, mellipherous, medicine, crafts and phytochemicals are the main uses identifi ed for the local native fl ora. Most of the identifi ed species are endemic to Chile (69%). These species are therefore a very valuable phytogenetic resource that can be used in the rehabilitation of massive mine wastes. This unique resource could be lost if these species are not identifi ed and studied in the near future.
21Background: Pouteria splendens (lúcumo chileno) is an endemic shrub to the coastal areas 22 of Central Chile classified as Endangered and Rare by the Chilean threatened species list, 23 but as Lower Risk (LR) by IUCN. Based in historical records some authors have 24 hypothesized that P. splendens originally formed a large metapopulation, but due to habitat 25 loss and fragmentation these populations have been reduced to two main areas separated by 26 100 km, neither of both currently protected by the Chilean system of protected areas.
27Knowledge about this species is scarce and no studies have provided evidence to support 28 the large metapopulation hypothesis. This gap of knowledge limits our availability to gauge 29 the real urgency to conserve remaining P. splendens populations, which can generate tragic 30 consequences in light of the increasing land-use change and climatic change that are facing 31 these populations. In this study we combined niche modelling, land-use information, future 32 climatic scenarios, and conservation genetics techniques, to test the hypothesis of a 33 potential original large metapopulation, evaluate the role of land-use change in population 34 decline, assess the threats this species may face in the future, and combine the generated 35 information to re-assess its conservation status using the IUCN criteria.
36Results: Our results show that locations with P. splendens are fewer than described in the 37 literature. Results from the niche modelling and genetic analyses support the hypothesis of 38 an originally large metapopulation that was recently reduced and fragmented by 39 anthropogenic land-use change. Future climate change could increase the range of suitable 40 habitats for P. splendens towards inland areas; however the high level of fragmentation of 41 these new areas is expected to preclude colonization processes.
42Conclusions: Based on our results we recommend urgent actions towards the conservation 43 of this species, including (1) re-evaluating its current IUCN conservation status and 44 reclassifying it as Endangered (EN), and (2) take immediate actions to develop strategies 45 that effectively protect the remaining populations. 46 47
To assess the conservation status of a species with little ecological information is usually a challenging process.Pouteria splendensis an endemic shrub of the coastal range of Central Chile currently classified as lower risk (LR) by IUCN (version 2.3). Knowledge about this species is extremely limited. CurrentlyP. splendensis only found in two small and isolated populations, which are thought to be remaining populations of an originally large metapopulation. However, there is no evidence to support this hypothesis, limiting our ability to gauge the real current conservation status of this species. In this study we combine niche modelling, land-use information, and genetic techniques to test the metapopulation hypothesis and reassess the conservation status ofP. splendensusing the IUCN criteria. We also evaluated the potential effects of climate change in the species distribution. Our results support the hypothesis of a large metapopulation that was recently fragmented. Future climate could increase the range ofP. splendens; however the high level of fragmentation would preclude colonization processes. We recommend reclassifyingP. splendensas Endangered (EN) and developing strategies to protect the remaining populations. Similar approaches like the presented here could be used to reclassify other species with limited ecological knowledge.
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