Thought and action for the enhancement of the Facultad de Agronomía y Zootecnia Arboretum, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, Argentina

Abstract

Vegetation is the fundamental component and the reason of being of botanical gardens. These are institutions that hold documented collections of live plants in order to foster scientific research, conservation, exhibition areas and education while, simultaneously, they are considered to be archetypical spaces for meeting, communion and interaction between humans and nature. The present paper aims to discover the values of the Arboretum of Facultad de Agronomía y Zootecnia, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, in order to endorse its recognition as a heritage site belonging to the previously mentioned institution. To achieve these goals, a series of mechanisms based on qualitative methods were implemented so as to understand the way people experience the landscape around them, where the substantial is what they perceive of this place as important, that is, the extent to which they value it. However, the need to spot particular situations led us to consider the quantification of subjective data in order to get a better understanding of reality. Once the value, spaces and representative or symbolic objects of the site were discovered, it was possible to start with discussions towards the recognition of the Arboretum as a heritage site of Universidad Nacional de Tucumán and to lay the foundation for the future development of a landscaping project capable of enhancing its value.