XVI International Botanical Congess

Temperate ecosystems are among those most poorly represented in the concert of the world's protected areas. Historically, agriculture and forestry have been carried out mainly in temperate regions, and increasing demands for food and other agricultural products will almost certainly entail a more intensive use of the land already in production and the recruitment of new, marginal land in temperate regions. In this scenario, protected areas in temperate regions will become more and more like islands embedded in a highly disrupted and fragmented background. One unavoidable consequence of this fragmentation process will be the augmented risk of biological invasions. Biological invasions, in turn, will pose a serious threat for the maintenance of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in those nature relicts set aside for preservation. These issues will be discussed in the context of the current state of conservation of biodiversity, with special reference to the temperate areas of Southern South America.