Valdivian Forests: then (1550) and now (1997)

The original extent of the native forest in the Valdivian Ecoregion has diminished considerably since the arrival of European explorers. In 1550, the ecoregion forest cover was approximately 18 million hectares; only 12 million hectares remain today. The Sclerophilic and Nothofagus forests have been most altered, having lost 97% and 70% of their original area respectively.

The map on the left reconstructs forest cover around the year 1550, and is the result of a thorough revision of historical literature, aerial photos and extrapolation based on site conditions. The map on the right details present-day forest cover using information obtained from a 1997 survey of native vegetation in Chile complemented by analysis of satellite imagery in Argentina. Together, these two maps allow us to estimate loss for each forest type over the last 450 years. The scale of both maps is 1:500000.

The depletion of the native forest through the years

Unsustainable logging, massive fires, and conversion to exotic plantations or pasture, have dramatically reduced the area originally covered by native forest in the ecoregion. The area substituted by radiata pine and eucalyptus plantations alone represents almost 40% of the total area deforested between 1985 and 1994. Deforestation for firewood production also leaves a deep mark: almost 60% of the total wood volume taken from native forests is used as fuel. In the last few centuries, the north-western portion of the ecoregion has been severely deforested, while the eastern and southern portions retain a good part of their forested area.

The forests of the Coastal Range and the Central Valley have been especially hard-hit, having lost at least 80% and 90% of their original forest cover, respectively. The resulting fragmentation, particularly in the Central Valley, has interrupted what was once a continuous expanse of forest from the Coastal Range through the Central Valley to the Andes Range in the east. In total, the original forest cover of the ecoregion has been reduced by 55%, leading to the destruction of valuable habitat and oscillations in microclimate.