The Bosque Andino Patagónico is a type of temperate to cold forest located in

southern Chile Southern Chile is an informal geographic term for any place south of the capital city, Santiago, or south of Biobío River, the mouth of which is Concepción, about {{convert, 200, mi, km, sigfig=1, order=flip south of Santiago. Generally cities ...

and western

Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and gl ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

at the southern end of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

. The climate here is influenced by humid air masses moving in from the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

which lose most of their moisture as they rise over the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

. The flora is dominated by trees, usually of the genus ''

Nothofagus ''Nothofagus'', also known as the southern beeches, is a genus of 43 species of trees and shrubs native to the Southern Hemisphere in southern South America (Chile, Argentina) and Australasia (east and southeast Australia, New Zealand, New Gui ...

''.

Geography

The Bosque Andino Patagónico represents one of the few relatively undisturbed temperate forests that has been little changed by man. It occupies approximately 6.5 million hectares of land. It is culturally significant because of its archaeological and historical value.

The Andean Patagonian forest region is located between 37°S and 55°S latitude, and clothes both sides of the Cordillera. The forest extends for about parallel to the Pacific coast, extending from just south of Mendoza in

to the southern end of Santa Cruz Province and to the island portion of the province of

Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of the Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main island, Isla G ...

. It is a narrow strip of land, with a maximum width of , dwindling to zero in places near the Chubut River and Santa Cruz Province. It is bounded to the east by the

Patagonian Desert The Patagonian Desert, also known as the Patagonian Steppe, is the largest desert in Argentina and is the 8th largest desert in the world by area, occupying 673,000 square kilometers (260,000 mi2). It is located primarily in Argentina and ...

. Ecologically the forest have no equivalent in the

northern hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the Equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined as being in the same celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the solar system as Earth's Nort ...

. This is indebted to distinct biota histories and environmental differences. The forest is divided into four regions; deciduous forest, Magellan forest, Valdivia forest and Del Pehuén. Rainfall is more plentiful in the Andean area than in other parts of Patagonia and there are several lakes, reservoirs and hydro-electric projects within the forested area. There is also an increase in population in nearby urban areas and greater tourism in the forest, resulting in increasing pollution.

Climate

The climate of these forests is governed by atmospheric, topographical and oceanic factors. The prevailing westerly winds are laden with moisture and come from the Pacific Ocean, being linked to the South Pacific subtropical anticyclone. Frontal systems move inland and precipitation is high at low altitudes in southern Patagonia, making the fiord region one of the wettest places on earth outside the tropics, with rainfall topping per year in places. To the east of the Andes precipitation declines to nearly nil. In northern Patagonia, the seasons vary as the anticyclone oscillates northwards in summer and southwards in winter. More frontal systems cross the coast during the winter and that is the season when most precipitation occurs on the western slopes of the mountains. Some places suffer prolonged

drought A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...

s in summer, and further east, on the Patagonian plateau, the air is no longer moist and little rain falls at any time of year. Over a west-east distance of , precipitation can fall from per year to . On the western side of the Andes, the cold

Humboldt Current The Humboldt Current, also called the Peru Current, is a cold, low- salinity ocean current that flows north along the western coast of South America.Montecino, Vivian, and Carina B. Lange. "The Humboldt Current System: Ecosystem components and pr ...

and prevailing westerly winds help to reduce temperature variations and the mean air temperature is at 36°S and is at 55°S. On the eastern side of the mountains the temperature variations are much more severe and there is a more

continental climate Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in the middle latitudes (40 to 55 north), within large landmasses where prevailing winds blow overland bringing som ...

Soils

Much of the soils around the Andes are derived from volcanic material. In this soils

weathering Weathering is the deterioration of rocks, soils and minerals as well as wood and artificial materials through contact with water, atmospheric gases, and biological organisms. Weathering occurs ''in situ'' (on site, with little or no movement), ...

has produced water-retentive allophane that can allow the vegetation to withstand drought. These soils develop chiefly from

volcanic ash Volcanic ash consists of fragments of rock, mineral crystals, and volcanic glass, created during volcano, volcanic eruptions and measuring less than 2 mm (0.079 inches) in diameter. The term volcanic ash is also often loosely used t ...

and wind-redeposited ash deposits that can reach several meters in height. These kind of soils have high

porosity Porosity or void fraction is a measure of the void (i.e. "empty") spaces in a material, and is a fraction of the volume of voids over the total volume, between 0 and 1, or as a percentage between 0% and 100%. Strictly speaking, some tests measure ...

and low

bulk density Bulk density, also called apparent density or volumetric density, is a property of powders, granules, and other "divided" solids, especially used in reference to mineral components (soil, gravel), chemical substances, (pharmaceutical) ingredients ...

. Locally they are known as

trumao Trumao is the name of a soil of the Andosol order found in southern and central Chile. Trumaos are formed from young volcanic ash, by volcanic ash redeposited by aeolian processes or by volcanic ash mobilized as alluvium. Trumaos are characterized ...

which are Andosols. Other soil types include

ñadi 300px, The archaeological site of Monte Verde is in a zone of ñadi soils. Ñadi is a type of soil and a phytogeographic zone of Southern Chile. Ñadi soils are located in the Chilean Central Valley of Los Lagos Region, specifically between the ...

s which are aquepts usually developed on top of glacifluvial material. While ''trumaos'' originate from recent ashes on ancient ashes brown and red-clay soils develop, these soils are not restricted to old ash parent material but do also originate from

metamorphic rocks Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, causin ...

in the

Chilean Coast Range The Chilean Coastal Range ( es, Cordillera de la Costa) is a mountain range that runs from north to south along the Pacific coast of South America parallel to the Andean Mountains, extending from Morro de Arica in the north to Taitao Peninsula, ...

.Veblen 2007, p. 219 In the high Andes, the soils are known as

lithosol Orthents are soils defined in USDA soil taxonomy as entisols that lack due to either steep slopes or parent materials that contain no permanent weatherable minerals (such as ironstone). Typically, Orthents are exceedingly shallow soils. They ar ...

s and contain little organic matter. Much of the ground here may be subject to

permafrost Permafrost is ground that continuously remains below 0 °C (32 °F) for two or more years, located on land or under the ocean. Most common in the Northern Hemisphere, around 15% of the Northern Hemisphere or 11% of the global surface ...

and the vegetation is scant, with

moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...

es and

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.andosols,

cambisol A Cambisol in the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB) is a soil in the beginning of soil formation. The horizon differentiation is weak. This is evident from weak, mostly brownish discolouration and/or structure formation in the soil pr ...

s and

regosol A Regosol in the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB) is very weakly developed mineral soil in unconsolidated materials. Regosols are extensive in eroding lands, in particular in arid and semi-arid areas and in mountain regions. Internat ...

s. The last ones occur at the boundary with the

Patagonian steppe The Patagonian Desert, also known as the Patagonian Steppe, is the largest desert in Argentina and is the 8th largest desert in the world by area, occupying 673,000 square kilometers (260,000 mi2). It is located primarily in Argentina and ...

Regions

Deciduous forest

This is the easternmost and driest part of the forest and extends from

Neuquén Neuquén (; arn, Nehuenken) is the capital city of the Argentine province of Neuquén and of the Confluencia Department, located in the east of the province. It occupies a strip of land west of the confluence of the Limay and Neuquén rivers w ...

. The three main species here are all deciduous, the

lenga beech ''Nothofagus pumilio'', the lenga beech (from the Mapuche language), is a deciduous tree or shrub in the Nothofagaceae family that is native to the southern Andes range, in the temperate forests of Chile and Argentina to Tierra del Fuego, from 35 ...

(''Nothofagus pumilio''), the

Antarctic beech Antarctic beech is a common name of two species in the genus ''Nothofagus'': *''Nothofagus antarctica'', native to South America *''Nothofagus moorei ''Nothofagus moorei'', commonly known as Antarctic beech, is an important Gondwana relict of t ...

(''Nothofagus antarctica''), which is found typically in lower and damp locations, and the mountain cypress (''Austrocedrus chilensis''). Other species present are the radal (''Lomatia hirsuta''), the raulí beech (''Nothofagus alpina'') and the roble beech (''Nothofagus obliqua''). Underneath these large trees there is usually a lower layer which includes such shrubs and small trees as boxleaf azara (''Azara microphylla''), Chilean wineberry (''Aristotelia chilensis''),

Darwin's barberry ''Berberis darwinii'', Darwin’s barberry, is a species of flowering plant in the Family (biology), family Berberidaceae, native to southern Chile and Argentina and naturalized elsewhere. Regional vernacular names include ''michay'', ''calafate ...

(''Berberis darwinii'', box-leaved barberry (''Berberis microphylla'') and the bamboo coligüe cane (''Chusquea culeou''), as well as a wide range of herbs.

Magellanic forest

The southern end of the forest is characterised by a colder, dry climate and the number of species growing here are more limited. The predominant tree is the evergreen Magellan's beech (''Nothofagus betuloides''), sometimes accompanied by the canelo (''Drimys winteri''). The understorey shrubs are similar to the deciduous forest apart from the absence of bamboo. There are also

peat bogs A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...

with various species of

sphagnum moss ''Sphagnum'' is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as sphagnum moss, peat moss, also bog moss and quacker moss (although that term is also sometimes used for peat). Accumulations of ''Sphagnum'' can store wa ...

and plants such as the

sundew ''Drosera'', which is commonly known as the sundews, is one of the largest genera of carnivorous plants, with at least 194 species. 2 volumes. These members of the family Droseraceae lure, capture, and digest insects using stalked mucilaginous ...

(''Drosera uniflora'').

Valdivian forest

The Valdivian forest lies in a discontinuous belt on the west of the area. The precipitation is greater here. Some parts, such as at Puerto Blest near the Rio Negro (

), have an average rainfall of per year, and the impression is of jungle. Here the most common trees are the coihue (''Nothofagus dombeyi''), the Patagonian cypress (''Fitzroya cupressoides''), the Chilean hazel (''Gevuina avellana''), the

ulmo The Valar (; singular Vala) are characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. They are "angelic powers" or "gods", #154 to Naomi Mitchison, September 1954 subordinate to the one God (Eru Ilúvatar). The Ainulindalë describes how those of the A ...

(''Eucryphia cordifolia''), the Guaitecas cypress (''Pilgerodendron uviferum''), the

podocarp Podocarpaceae is a large family of mainly Southern Hemisphere conifers, known in English as podocarps, comprising about 156 species of evergreen trees and shrubs.James E. Eckenwalder. 2009. ''Conifers of the World''. Portland, Oregon: Timber Pre ...

(''Podocarpus nubigenus'') and the female maniu (''Saxegothaea conspicua''). There is a dense understorey of bamboos, the hardy fuchsia (''Fuchsia magellanica''), reeds and ferns. Mammals present in the Valdivian forest include an arboreal

marsupial Marsupials are any members of the mammalian infraclass Marsupialia. All extant marsupials are endemic to Australasia, Wallacea and the Americas. A distinctive characteristic common to most of these species is that the young are carried in a po ...

, the

monito del monte The monito del monte or colocolo opossum, ''Dromiciops gliroides'', also called ''chumaihuén'' in Mapudungun, is a diminutive marsupial native only to southwestern South America (Argentina and Chile). It is the only extant species in the ancient ...

(''Dromiciops gliroides''), the world's smallest deer, the

southern pudú The southern pudu (''Pudu puda'', Mapudungun ''püdü'' or ''püdu'', es, pudú, ) is a species of South American deer native to the Andes of Chile and Argentina. It is found in high-altitude forests and is classified as Near Threatened in the I ...

(''Pudu puda''), and South America's smallest cat, the

kodkod The kodkod (''Leopardus guigna'') (), also called guiña, is the smallest felid species native to the Americas. It lives primarily in central and southern Chile, as well as marginally in adjoining areas of Argentina. Since 2002, it has been liste ...

(''Leopardus guigna''). The giant snail ('' Macrocyclis peruvianus''), with a shell length of , is also found here.

Del Pehuén

This region lies in the centre of the forest to the west of

. The dominant species here is the

Chilean pine ''Araucaria araucana'' (commonly called the monkey puzzle tree, monkey tail tree, piñonero, pewen or Chilean pine) is an evergreen tree growing to a trunk diameter of 1–1.5 m (3–5 ft) and a height of 30–40 m (100–130 ft). ...

(''Araucaria araucana''). This area has been the location of much logging in the past. The understorey is scanty and consists of such shrubs as the bamboo caña coligüe (''Chusquea culeou'') and the box-leaved barberry (''Berberis buxifolia'').

Fauna

The fauna of the Andean Patagonian forest region is very varied with many

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

species. Predatory mammals include the

puma Puma or PUMA may refer to: Animals * ''Puma'' (genus), a genus in the family Felidae ** Puma (species) or cougar, a large cat Businesses and organisations * Puma (brand), a multinational shoe and sportswear company * Puma Energy, a mid- and d ...

(''Puma concolor''), the

culpeo The culpeo (''Lycalopex culpaeus''), also known as culpeo zorro, Andean zorro, Andean fox, Paramo wolf, Andean wolf,Comparative ecology of two South American foxes, 'Dusicvon ariseus' and 'culpaeus' by Warren E. Johnson. Doctoral dissertation. Io ...

(''Lycalopex culpaeus''), the

southern river otter The southern river otter (''Lontra provocax'') is a species of otter that lives in Chile and Argentina. Although called a "river otter", it inhabits both marine and freshwater environments. It sometimes is considered a subspecies of ''Lontra cana ...

(''Lontra provocax'') and the

Geoffroy's cat Geoffroy's cat (''Leopardus geoffroyi'') is a small wild cat native to the southern and central regions of South America. It is about the size of a domestic cat. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List because it is widespread and abu ...

(''Leopardus geoffroyi''). Other mammals include

Humboldt's hog-nosed skunk Humboldt's hog-nosed skunk (''Conepatus humboldtii''), also known as the Patagonian hog-nosed skunk, is a type of hog-nosed skunk indigenous to the open grassy areas in the Patagonian regions of South Argentina and Chile. It belongs to the order ...

(''Conepatus humboldtii''), the

Patagonian mara The Patagonian mara (''Dolichotis patagonum'') is a relatively large rodent in the mara genus ''Dolichotis''. It is also known as the Patagonian cavy, Patagonian hare, or dillaby. This herbivorous, somewhat rabbit-like animal is found in open an ...

(''Dolichotis patagonum''), the

guanaco The guanaco (; ''Lama guanicoe'') is a camelid native to South America, closely related to the llama. Guanacos are one of two wild South American camelids, the other being the vicuña, which lives at higher elevations. Etymology The guanaco g ...

(''Lama guanicoe''), the

south Andean deer The south Andean deer (''Hippocamelus bisulcus''), also known as the southern guemal, south Andean huemul, southern huemul, or Chilean ''huemul'' or '' güemul'' ( , ), is an endangered species of deer native to the mountains of Argentina and Chi ...

(''Hippocamelus bisulcus'') and numerous species of rodents. There is a wide range of bird life, ranging from the

black-chested buzzard-eagle The black-chested buzzard-eagle (''Geranoaetus melanoleucus'') is a bird of prey of the hawk and eagle family (Accipitridae). It lives in open regions of South America. This species is also known as the black buzzard-eagle, the gray buzzard-eag ...

(''Geranoaetus melanoleucus'') and

Magellanic woodpecker The Magellanic woodpecker (''Campephilus magellanicus'') is a very large woodpecker found in southern Chile and southwestern Argentina; it is resident within its range. This species is the southernmost example of the genus '' Campephilus'', which ...

(''Campephilus magellanicus'') to the

Chilean swallow The Chilean swallow (''Tachycineta leucopyga'') is a species of bird in the family Hirundinidae. It breeds in Chile and Patagonia, migrating north as far as Bolivia, Paraguay, and Rio Grande do Sul. Taxonomy and etymology The new genus ''Tachyci ...

(''Tachycineta meyeni'') and the

torrent duck The torrent duck (''Merganetta armata'') is a member of the duck, goose and swan family (biology), family Anatidae. It is the only member of the genus ''Merganetta''. It is placed in the shelduck subfamily Tadorninae after the "perching duck" ass ...

(''Merganetta armata''). Amphibians are represented by the toad ('' Rhinella spinulosa''), the large four-eyed frog (''Pleurodema bufoninum''), ''

Pleurodema bibroni ''Pleurodema bibroni'' is a species of frog in the family Leptodactylidae. Its common name is four-eyed frog, although this name can also refer to the genus ''Pleurodema'' in general. The common name refers to two inguinal poison glands that rese ...

'' and the

Darwin's frog Darwin’s frog (''Rhinoderma darwinii''), also called the Southern Darwin's frog, is a species of Chilean/Argentinian frog of the family Rhinodermatidae. It was discovered by Charles Darwin during his voyage on voyage on HMS ''Beagle''. on a ...

(''Rhinoderma darwinii''), and there are also numerous lizards and the Peru slender snake (''Tachymenis peruviana''). There are many species of native fish in the lakes and rivers.

Rock art

Rock paintings have been found in the valley of the

Rio Manso Rio Manso is a municipality in the state of Minas Gerais in the Southeast region of Brazil. See also *List of municipalities in Minas Gerais This is a list of the municipalities in the state of Minas Gerais (MG), located in the Southeast Regio ...

in north Patagonia, both in Argentina and in Chile. The paintings are largely abstract and mostly consist of complex patterns of straight lines, with zig-zag lines, diamonds and triangles, and sometimes concentric circles. There is some figurative art showing humans and animals and the colour most often used is different shades of red. The style of the work makes it likely to have been performed by

hunter-gatherer A traditional hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living an ancestrally derived lifestyle in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local sources, especially edible wild plants but also insects, fungi, ...

s in the late

Holocene The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togethe ...

era.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bosque Andino Patagonico Andean forests Ecology of Patagonia * * * * Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests Valdivian temperate rainforest