Restoring nature, removing carbon—at scale

Why a Biomass-Burial program is strategically important for Chilean Patagonia ?

Chilean Patagonia (≈ 41°–56 °S) harbours two of the Southern Hemisphere's most singular terrestrial carbon reservoirs: the Valdivian temperate rainforest—one of only five temperate rain-forest systems on Earth and a recognised global biodiversity hotspot with >70 % woody-plant endemism (Fontúrbel et al., 2018)—and 3 million ha of ombrotrophic peatlands that lock up ~4.8 Gt of carbon, the largest peat-carbon stock in any temperate zone south of 30 °S (Mansilla et al., 2024). These ecosystems underpin water regulation, climate buffering and a fast-growing conservation-tourism economy, yet they are increasingly threatened by land-use change, exotic plantation spread, and a rising wildfire regime amplified by invasive shrubs such as Ulex europaeus (gorse) (Dent et al., 2019). A vault-based biomass-burial project tackles those pressures on two fronts:

  • it suppresses a high-flammability invader whose seed bank otherwise persists for decades (Hill et al., 2001; Madrigal et al., 2012), thereby lowering ignition probabilities around forest fragments and peatland margins, and

  • it converts that liability into durable, low-cost negative emissions, directly supporting Chile's 2050 carbon-neutral commitment.

What makes Chilean Patagonia uniquely suited to a vault programme?

  • Globally rare biophysical assets. The Valdivian rainforest carries living trees >3 600 years old (Fitzroya cupressoides) and supports keystone endemics (e.g., Pudu puda, Dromiciops gliroides) whose habitat integrity is jeopardised by fire and habitat fragmentation (Fontúrbel et al., 2018). Adjacent Sphagnum-dominated peatlands sequester millennial-scale carbon yet are now releasing CO₂ where moss harvesting or drainage occurs (Mansilla et al., 2024). Reducing wildfire frequency and invasive pressure is therefore a climate-and-biodiversity double dividend.


  • Abundant low-conflict burial sites. Thousands of decommissioned gravel pits and road-aggregate quarries scattered through Los Ríos, Los Lagos and Aysén provide impermeable glacial tills ideal for vault construction, avoiding competition with productive soils or protected areas. Their proximity (≤ 100 km) to the densest gorse belts minimises transport emissions while channelling restoration funds into rural municipalities with some of Chile's highest isolation and poverty indices (Nahuelhual & Carmona, 2024).


  • Synergy with regional fire and conservation policy. Patagonia's firefighting capacity is constrained by rugged topography and sparse road networks; preventing heavy-fuel build-up is therefore more cost-effective than suppression. Vault deployment removes ~100 t ha⁻¹ of volatile-oil-rich biomass, cutting flame-length potential by an order of magnitude (Madrigal et al., 2012) and protecting irreplaceable peat-carbon sinks whose combustion would emit >1 000 t CO₂ ha⁻¹ (Mansilla et al., 2024). The resulting, verifiable CO₂ removals can be channelled through high-integrity carbon markets to finance long-term invasive-species control and peatland protection.


  • Social-ecological co-benefits. A hub-and-spoke supply chain—in-field chipping by local cooperatives, haulage to central vaults—creates rural employment while eliminating an ecological pest. Revenues from high-quality carbon credits can underwrite community fire-brigade training, native-forest corridors between National Park Network units, and peatland conservation easements, aligning directly with Chile's updated NDC emphasis on "Nature-based Solutions" and just socio-ecological transitions.

    • References

    Dent, J. M., Buckley, H. L., Lustig, A., & Curran, T. J. (2019). Flame temperatures saturate with increasing dead material in Ulex europaeus, but flame duration, fuel consumption and overall flammability continue to increase. Fire, 2(1), 6. https://doi.org/10.3390/fire2010006

    Fontúrbel, F. E., Lara, A., Lobos, D., & Little, C. (2018). The cascade impacts of climate change could threaten key ecological interactions. Ecosphere, 9(12), e02485. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.2485 ESAJournals

    Hill, R. L., Gourlay, A. H., & Barker, R. J. (2001). Survival of Ulex europaeus seeds in the soil at three sites in New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Botany, 39, 235–244. https://doi.org/10.1080/0028825X.2001.9512734

    Madrigal, J., Marino, E., Guijarro, M., Hernando, C., & Díez, C. (2012). Evaluation of the flammability of gorse (Ulex europaeus L.) managed by prescribed burning. Annals of Forest Science, 69, 387–397. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13595-011-0165-0 BioMed Central

    Mansilla, C. A., Domínguez, E., Mackenzie, R., Hoyos-Santillan, J., & Aravena, J. C. (2024). Peatlands in Chilean Patagonia: Distribution, biodiversity, ecosystem services, and conservation. In Conservation in Chilean Patagonia (pp. 153–174). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-39408-9_6

    Nahuelhual, L., & Carmona, A. (2024). Drivers of change in ecosystems of Chilean Patagonia: Current and projected trends. In Conservation in Chilean Patagonia (pp. 445–479). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-39408-9_17