INFORMATION ON THE FOREST SEED BANK IN SANTIAGO DEL ESTERO, ARGENTINA ¹

by
Fidelina Abraham de Noir
Olaechea 749 - 4.200 - Santiago del Estero
Republica Argentina

As a measure to maintain a wide range of seed sources and conserve valuable genetic resources, a Forest Seed Bank has been established at the Faculty of Forest Science in the capital of the Province of Santiago del Estero, Argentina. The objectives of the seed bank are as follows:

explore and safeguard the genetic resources of forest species;
study seed and seed stands aiming at improved utilization;
carry out research on species in danger of extinction or genetic depletion;
introduce ISTA standards for quantitative and qualitative analysis of seeds;
study methods for pre-treatment of seeds;
participate in national and international seed exchange;
exchange information with other national and international seed centres;
disseminate and extend information on seed quality and handling;
support and participate in projects and programmes within the field of reforestation and sustainable utilization of forest resources, and develop and sponsor studies on management of protected areas.

Climatic and topographic data (1990– 1991)

Phyto-Geographic Region		Annual Mean Temp.	Mean Max. Temp.	Mean Min. Temp.	Annual Precipitation mm	Precipitation regime	Moisture Balance	Latitude	Longitude	Altitude	Relief
		°C	°C	°C						m.a.s.l
NEOTROPICAL AMAZONIAN AREA
1.	Provincia de las Yungas	20–22	28	14	800–2000	amazonic	positive in warm season negaive in cold season	23°08' 28°30'	63°36' 66°50'	350–3000	mountains, ravines, valleys and plains
2.	Provincia Paranaense CHAQUEÑO AREA	20	26	14–16	+2000	two peaks autumn + spring	constantly positive	25°32' 28°20'	53°36' 58°12'	130– 800	low mountains
3.	Provincia Chaqueña:
	District Chaqueño East	20–23	26–28	14–18	900–1100	two peaks autum + spring	slightly positive to balancing	24°32' 31°20'	57°36' 63° 4'	50– 250	ravines with light lowerings low mountains
	District Chaqueño West	20–24	26–30	12–18	500– 800	amazonic	negative	22° 0' 33°14'	59° 6' 66°17'	50– 250	d.o.
4.	Provincia del Espinal	14–16	24	6– 8	400	amazonic	negative	28° 0' 40°33'	55°53' 66°53'	25– 700	small ravines and low mountains
5.	Provincia del Monte	14–16	18–28	4–12	80– 350	amazonic	negative	29°51' 44°22'	62°11' 72° 1'	40–1170	ravines, slopes, tableaus

Seed of the following species/provenances are available from the centre in research quantities:

Scientific name	Provenance according to phyto-geographic region	Months of fruiting		Main use
Araucaria angustifolia	Provincia Paranaense	March	– April	Carpentry
Juglans australis	Provincia de las Yungas	March	– April	Furniture
Acacia aroma	Provincia del Espinal	Dec.	– January	Fuelwood
Acacia caven	Provincia del Espinal Dist. Chaqueño West and East	Dec.	– January	Fuelwood
Acacia visco	Dist. Chaqueño West	May	– June	Furniture, Fuelwood
Anadenanthera colubrina	Provincia de las Yungas	August	– Sept.	Carpentry
Enterolobium contortisiliquue	Provincia de las Yungas Dist. Chaqueño West	April	– May	Carpentry
Prosopis alba	Provincia del Espinal Dist. Chaqueño West and East	Dec.	– January	Furniture, Fuelwood
Prosopis chilensis	Provincia del Monte	Dec.	– January	Fuelwood
Prosopis kuntzei	Dist. Chaqueño West and East	April	– May	Fuelwood
Prosopis nigra	Provincia del Espinal Dist. Chaqueño West and East	Dec.	– January	Furniture, Fuelwood
Prosopis ruscifolia	Dist. Chaqueño West and East	Dec.	– January	Fuelwood
Bauhinia candicans	Provincia de las Yungas	July	– August	Ornamental
Caesalpina paraguariensis	Dist. Chaqueño West and East	July		Furniture, Fuelwood
Cassia carnaval	Provincia de las Yungas	October		Ornamental
Cercidium praecox	Provincia del Monte	December		Fuelwood
Gleditsia amorphoides	Provincia Paranaense	Feb.	– March
Peltophorum dubium	Provincia Paranaense	June		Furniture
Pterogyne nitens	Provincia de las Yungas	April	– May	Furniture
Erythrina crista-galli	Provincia Paranaense	December		Ornamental
Geoffroea decorticans	Dist. Chaqueño West and East	Dec.	– January	Fuelwood
Tipuana tipu	Provincia de las Yungas	April	– May	Furniture
Cedrela fissilis	Provincia Paranaense	From May		Furniture
Cedrela lilloi	Provincia de las Yungas	From May		Furniture
Schinopsis balansae	District Chaqueño East	June	– August	Sleepers, Furniture
Schinopsis quebracho colorado	District Chaqueño West	June	– August	Poles, Fuelwood, charcoal
Schinus areira	Provincia del Espinal	From April		Furniture, Fuelwood
Chorisia insignis	District Chaqueño West	June	– July	Ornamental
Chorisia speciosa	Provincia de las Yungas	June	– July	Ornamental
Aspidosperma quebracho blanco	Provincia del Espinal Dist. Chaqueño West and East	June	– August	Poles, Carpentry work Furniture
Jacaranda mimosifolia	Provincia de las Yungas	May	– June	Furniture
Tabebuia avellanedae	Provincia de las Yungas	Oct.	– Nov.	Furniture
Tabebuia ipe	District Chaqueño East	Oct.	– Nov.	Furniture
Tabebuia nodosa	Provincia del Espinal Dist. Chaqueño West and East	Oct.	– Nov.	Furniture, Fuelwood
Celtis sala	Provincia del Espinal Dist. Chaqueño West and East	Dec.	– January	Furniture, Fuelwood

For additional information please contact the author of this article

INFORMATION ON THE FOREST SEED BANK IN SANTIAGO DEL ESTERO, ARGENTINA 1

INFORMATION ON THE FOREST SEED BANK IN SANTIAGO DEL ESTERO, ARGENTINA ¹