What happens when we stop viewing the landscape from a distance and begin to observe it on a microscopic scale? In this session, we will explore peatlands as living, complex, and stratified ecosystems, shifting our focus from the visible landscape to the tiny worlds that exist within them. Taking the peatlands of Chilo\u00e9 and Sphagnum moss\u2014known as \u201cpomp\u00f3n\u201d\u2014as our starting point, we\u2019ll learn about their importance in water regulation, carbon storage, and the creation of microenvironments where multiple forms of life coexist. The class will be led by Dr. Nicol\u00e1s Mart\u00ednez, scientific director of Pliegue, and Mg. Daniela C\u00e9spedes, creative director of Pliegue, who will approach the peatland from the intersection of science, microscopy, and aesthetics.<\/p>\n
Through images obtained using traditional microscopy and fluorescence microscopy, we will explore the intimate architecture of these ecosystems: the specialized cells of Sphagnum, their hyalocysts capable of storing large amounts of water, plant tissues adapted to waterlogging, and communities of microalgae, diatoms, fungi, bacteria, protists, rotifers, and other organisms that remain invisible to the naked eye. The event will also feature a microscope available for hands-on use and samples of organic material, so that attendees can learn the basic principles of microscopic observation and explore, in real time, structures and life forms that normally escape our perception.<\/p>\n
Observing the microscopic, however, involves more than simply magnifying an image: it means transforming the way we look at things. The microscope alters the scale of perception and reveals that what appeared to be a homogeneous surface is, in fact, a landscape composed of structures, relationships, temporalities, and forms of life. The landscape thus ceases to be merely what we contemplate from a distance\u2014gazing at a horizon\u2014and instead becomes something that requires technical mediation to become visible.<\/p>\n
This activity is part of the National Research Fund project \u201cChilo\u00e9 Peatlands: Interdisciplinary Research on Microlandscapes,\u201d carried out by the Pliegue research team, consisting of Jos\u00e9 Llano Loyola, George Somerville, Daniela C\u00e9spedes, Nicol\u00e1s Mart\u00ednez, and Javier Paredes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On Friday, August 21, at 3:30 p.m., the Il Posto Research Center will host the seminar \u201cPeatland Micro-Landscapes: An Exploration of Ecology, Microscopy, and Aesthetics.\u201d Over the course of two hours, the session will combine ecology, microscopy, and an aesthetic approach to the concept of the micro-landscape, exploring the peat bog from its territorial scale down to its cellular organization. This experience invites participants to discover that, where at first glance we see only \u201cmoss,\u201d there exists an entire landscape that usually remains outside our field of perception.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"eventos_category":[60],"class_list":["post-8122","evento","type-evento","status-publish","hentry","eventos_category-seminar"],"acf":{"sala":["B - Centro de Investigaci\u00f3n"],"sala2":["arch"],"fecha_evento":"20260821","calendario":"2026-08-21 15:30:00","imagen_listado":8123,"disponible":["Disponible"]},"yoast_head":"\n