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Chile

In the 2010s, Sphagnum peat in Chile has begun to be harvested at a large scale for export to countries like Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the United States. Sphagnum ’s ability to absorb excess water and release it during dry months means that overexploitation may threaten the water supply in the fjords and channels of Chile. Extraction of Sphagnum in Chile is regulated by law since 2 August 2018. Between 2018 and 2024, Chilean law allowed for the manual extraction of Sphagnum using only pitchforks or similar tools as an aid. In a given designated harvesting area (polygon) at least 30% of Sphagnum coverage had to be left unharvested. Harvested Sphagnum fibers we not allowed to exceed 15 cm (5.9 in) in length and the remaining Sphagnum after harvest was not to be left with a length of less than 5 cm (2.0 in) over the water table. In the regions of Los Ríos (40°S) and Los Lagos (41–43°S) the same plots could be harvested after 12 years, while further south in Aysén (44–48°S) and Magallanes (49–56°S) 85 years had to pass before the same area can be harvested again. This harvesting scheme was superceded on Arpil 2024 when harvesting became forbidden except for areas with special land-management plans approved by Servicio Agrícola y Ganadero.

Harvesting aside, bogs where Sphagnum grows have also come under threat by the development of wind farms in cool humid areas such as the Cordillera del Piuchén where the San Pedro Wind Farm was constructed in the 2010s. The construction of each wind turbine usually implies the removal of vegetation and the alteration of the soil, changing by the way also of the local hydrology.