The forest types of the Valdivian Ecoregion

Lenga Nothofagus pumilio Los Glaciares National Park, Santa Cruz Province, Patagonia, Argentina. Nothofagus pumilio Lenga forest, endemic to South Patagonia - Los Glaciares National Park, Santa Cruz Province, Patagonia, Argentina. UNESCO World Heritage Site CREDIT:

The Nothofagus Forest

Characteristics and distribution

According to Donoso (1995), there are five forest types dominated by the Nothofagus species:

Roble - Hualo (N. oblicua - N. glauca) Nearly pure stands of roble (N. obicua) mixed with peumo (Peumus boldus), maitén (Maitenus boaria), and quillay (Quillaja saponaria) are found in the north. Further south, hualo (N. glauca) grows in wetter areas.

Roble - Raulí - Coïgue (N. oblicua - N. alpina - N.donbeyi) This forest type is made up primarily of pure stands or mixtures of mature trees with roble (N. oblicua), laurel (Laurelia sempervirens), ulmo (Eucryphia cordifolia) and olivillo (Aextoxicon punctatum) saplings.

Coïgue - Raulí - Tepa (N. donbeyi - N. alpina - Laurelia philippiana) The stands in the north are made up of Coïgue (N. dombeyi) and Raulí (N. alpina) or tepa (L. philippiana) and trevo (Dasyphylum diacantoides), with an understory of tineo (Weinmannia trichosperma). In the southern portion of the Andes distribution, ma�io de hojas cortas (Saxegothaea conspicua) grows in the overstory. Lenga (N. pumilio) is found at higher elevations, and is mixed with roble (N. oblicua) and ulmo (E. cordifolia) at lower elevations.

Lenga (N. pumilio) Lenga is associated with roble (N. oblicua) and Coïgue (N. dombeyi) in the extreme northern portion of the range, and with araucaria (Araucaria araucana) and Coïgue de Magallanes (N. betuloides) in the southern portion.

Coïgue de Magallanes (N. betuloides). This species is primarily associated with lenga (N. pumilio), but is also accompanied by canelo (Drimys winteri), notro (Embothrium coccineum), sauco del diablo (Pseudopamax laetevirens), and ciprés de las Guaitecas (Pilgerodendron uviferum) in the south

Threats faced

According to CONAF's 1997 land survey, Nothofagus forests cover an area of approximately 7,397,000 hectares, accounting for 55% of all of Chile's forests. Of this area, only about 10% (759,335 hectares) is officially protected (FVSA,1999). Lenga forests make up the great majority of the protected areas (440,000 hectares), while roble-hualo and Coïgue-Raulí-tepa forests are the least represented, comprising just 2% of the total protected area.

Some interesting facts:

There are nine species in the genus Nothofagus, in addition to hybrids like huala.
These species grow quickly, however those located further south (hualo (N. glauca), huala (N. leonii) and Raulí (N. alpina)) are extremely threatened by plantations of exotic species.
This genus was well represented on the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana, which later became South America, New Zealand, Australia, Africa, and India. It is possible to find Nothofagus species in some of these far-flung regions even today.

Sources of information

CONAF, CONAMA, BIRF. 1997. Survey and evaluation of native plant resources of Chile.

Donoso, C. 1995. Temperate Rainforests of Chile and Argentina. Structural variation and dynamics. Editorial Universitaria. Santiago, Chile. 483 pp.

Donoso, C., Lara, A. 1999. Silviculture of the Chile's native forests. Editorial Universitaria. Chapter 10. Evergreen forests. pp. 297- 339.

FVSA. 1999. Maps of the Valdivian ecoregion forests, 1:500,000 scale. Technical Bulletin, Fundación Vida Silvestre de Argentina, Buenos Aires, Argentina. 7 pp.

UACh, 2000. Original vegetation cover in the Valdivian ecoregion around the year 1550.