The Chilean Matorral (NT1201) is a

terrestrial ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...

of central Chile, located on the west coast 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 sout ...

. It is in the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub

biome A biome () is a biogeographical unit consisting of a biological community that has formed in response to the physical environment in which they are found and a shared regional climate. Biomes may span more than one continent. Biome is a broader ...

, part of the

Neotropical realm The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In biogeo ...

. Matorral is typically characterized by a temperate Mediterranean climate, with rainy winters and dry summers. It is one of the world's five

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

regions, which are all located in the middle latitudes on the west coast of continents. The Mediterranean Basin, the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion of

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

and

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

, the

Cape Province The Province of the Cape of Good Hope ( af, Provinsie Kaap die Goeie Hoop), commonly referred to as the Cape Province ( af, Kaapprovinsie) and colloquially as The Cape ( af, Die Kaap), was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequen ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

, and Southwest Australia are the other Mediterranean-climate regions.

Setting

The Matorral occupies central Chile between 32° and 37° south latitude. 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 contin ...

lies to the west, and the Chilean Coastal Range lies parallel to the coast. The Chilean Central Valley lies between the Coastal range and the Andes Mountains, which bound the Matorral ecoregion on the east. To the north is the extremely dry

Atacama The Atacama Desert ( es, Desierto de Atacama) is a desert plateau in South America covering a 1,600 km (990 mi) strip of land on the Pacific coast, west of the Andes Mountains. The Atacama Desert is the driest nonpolar desert in the w ...

desert, which separates the Matorral from the tropical forests of northern South America. A semi-desert region known as '' El Norte Chico'' (the "little north") lies between 28° and 32° south latitude, and is the transition zone between the Atacama desert and the Matorral. To the south lies the cooler and wetter Valdivian temperate rain forests ecoregion, which includes most of South America's temperate rain forests.

Flora

The Chilean Matorral ecoregion is home to several plant communities. *Coastal Matorral is a low, soft scrubland which extends from La Serena in the north to Valparaiso in the south. Typical species are the coastal daisy ''(

Bahia ambrosioides ''Bahia ambrosioides'' is a South American species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. It is native to Chile including the Juan Fernández Islands The Juan Fernández Islands ( es, Archipiélago Juan Fernández) are a sparsely in ...

)'', Palhuén ''( Adesmia microphylla)'', and Palo de Yagua, the wild coastal fuchsia ''( Fuchsia lycioides)''. The coastal matorral is similar to the

garrigue Garrigue or garigue ( ), also known as phrygana ( el, φρύγανα , n. pl.), is a type of low scrubland ecoregion and plant community in the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome. It is found on limestone soils in southern ...

of the Mediterranean Basin and the coastal sage scrub of

southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...

. *Matorral is a shrubland plant community, composed of

sclerophyll Sclerophyll is a type of vegetation that is adapted to long periods of dryness and heat. The plants feature hard leaves, short internodes (the distance between leaves along the stem) and leaf orientation which is parallel or oblique to direct ...

("hard-leaved") shrubs and small trees,

cactus A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Gree ...

, and bromeliads. Typical species include Litre ''(Lithraea venenosa)'', Quillay or Soapbark Tree ''( Quillaja saponaria)'', cactus (''

Echinopsis chiloensis ''Echinopsis chiloensis'' is a species of cactus native to South America; genus members are known as ''hedgehog cacti'', ''sea-urchin cactus'' or ''Easter lily cactus''. Description This species, ''E chiloensis'', is tree-like with branching str ...

''), and bromeliads of genus '' Puya'', with a diverse understory of herbs, vines, and geophytes. The matorral is similar to the chaparral of CaliforniaC. Michael Hogan (2008
''Chilean Wine Palm: Jubaea chilensis'', GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg
/ref> and the maquis of the Mediterranean Basin. *Espinal is a

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland- grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

plant community, composed of widely spaced clumps of trees, predominantly Espino ''( Acacia caven)'' and spiny carob tree ''( Prosopis chilensis),'' with an understory of annual grasses introduced from the Mediterranean Basin in the 16th century. Much of the espinal was formerly matorral, degraded over the centuries by intensive grazing of sheep, goats, and cattle. *Sclerophyll woodlands and forests were once more extensive, but now exist in small patches in the coast ranges and Andean foothills. The sclerophyll forests and woodlands are composed predominantly of evergreen sclerophyll trees, including Peumo ''( Cryptocarya alba)'',

Boldo ''Peumus boldus'', the only species in the genus ''Peumus'', is commonly known as boldo (from the Mapuche name ''foḻo''). This tree of the family Monimiaceae is natively endemic to the central region of Chile, occurring from 33° to 40° sou ...

''(Peumus boldus)'', Mayten ''(

Maytenus boaria ''Maytenus boaria'' (mayten) is an evergreen tree of the family Celastraceae, native from South America, up to , diameter, straight trunk. It occurs naturally approximately from 30 to 50ºS: Chile. Description Its leaves are small, alternate, ...

)'', and Chilean wine palm ''(

Jubaea chilensis ''Jubaea'' is a genus of palms with one species, ''Jubaea chilensis'' or ''Jubaea spectabilis'', commonly known in English as the Chilean wine palm or Chile cocopalm, and palma chilena in Spanish. It is native to southwestern South America and i ...

)''. The ecoregion has 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 else ...

plant species, with affinities to the South American tropics, the

Antarctic flora Antarctic flora are a distinct community of vascular plants which evolved millions of years ago on the supercontinent of Gondwana. Presently, species of Antarctica flora reside on several now separated areas of the Southern Hemisphere, includin ...

, and the Andes. About 95% of the plant species are endemic to Chile, including ''

Gomortega keule ''Gomortega keule'' (syn. ''G. nitida''; Spanish names ''keule'', ''queule'', and ''hualhual'') is a tree native to Chile. It is the sole species of the genus ''Gomortega'' and, according to the APG IV system of 2016 (unchanged from the APG syste ...

'', ''

Pitavia punctata ''Pitavia punctata'' is a species of tree endemic to Chile in the family Rutaceae. It is endemic to Chile; an example habitat being the Chilean matorral.C. Michael Hogan & World Wildlife Fund. 2013 It is threatened by habitat loss. Distinctive c ...

'', ''

Nothofagus alessandrii ''Nothofagus alessandrii'', the ruil, is a species of plant in the family Nothofagaceae, commonly known as the southern beeches. It is endemic to Chile, occurring chiefly in the Chilean matorral ecoregion. It is threatened by habitat loss. The s ...

'', and the

Chilean Wine Palm ''Jubaea'' is a genus of palms with one species, ''Jubaea chilensis'' or ''Jubaea spectabilis'', commonly known in English as the Chilean wine palm or Chile cocopalm, and palma chilena in Spanish. It is native to southwestern South America and i ...

, ''Jubaea chilensis''.

Conservation

The Matorral contains the majority of Chile's population and largest cities. The Central valley is Chile's main agricultural region, and the region is also subject to extensive grazing, logging, and urbanization. Of Chile's ecoregions, the Matorral is the least protected by national parks and preserves. Only 1.3% of the ecoregion is protected. Protected areas include:Chilean matorral
DOPA Explorer. Accessed 15 August 2022 * Lago Peñuelas Forest Reserve * Río Blanco Forest Reserve * Las Cruces Marine and Coastal Protected Area *

Bosque de Fray Jorge National Park A bosque ( ) is a type of gallery forest habitat found along the riparian flood plains of stream and river banks in the southwestern United States. It derives its name from the Spanish word for ' woodlands'. Setting In the predominantly ari ...

* Las Palmas de Cocalán National Park * Llanos de Challe National Park *

Pan de Azúcar National Park Pan de Azúcar National Park is a national park of Chile. The park straddles the border between the Antofagasta Region and the Atacama Region. Its name, ''Parque Nacional Pan de Azúcar'', means "sugar loaf national park". Geography The park ...

* Morro Moreno National Park *

Las Chinchillas National Reserve Las Chinchillas National Reserve is a nature reserve located in the Choapa Province, Coquimbo Region, Chile. The reserve gives shelter to some of the few remaining colonies of Long-tailed Chinchillas in the wild. Biology In addition to the chinch ...

* Pingüino de Humboldt National Reserve * El Yali National Reserve * Roblería del Cobre de Loncha National Reserve * Pichasca Natural Monument * Cerro Ñielol Natural Monument * Isla Cachagua Natural Monument * Paposo Norte Natural Monument * Roca Oceánica Nature Sanctuary * Campo dunar de la punta de Concón Nature Sanctuary * Palmar El Salto Nature Sanctuary * Las Petras de Quintero y su Entorno Nature Sanctuary * Laguna El Peral Nature Sanctuary * Laguna Conchalí Nature Sanctuary * Granito Orbicular Nature Sanctuary * Serranía el Ciprés Nature Sanctuary * Acantilados Federico Santa María Nature Sanctuary * Isla de Cachagua Nature Sanctuary * Predio Sector "Altos de Cantillana - Horcón de Piedra y Roblería Cajón de Lisboa" Nature Sanctuary * San Juan de Piche Nature Sanctuary * Bosque de Calabacillo de Navidad Nature Sanctuary * Horcón de Piedra (Fundo Rinconada de Chocalán) Nature Sanctuary * Cajón del Río Achibueno Nature Sanctuary * Estero Derecho Nature Sanctuary * Humedal de Tunquén Nature Sanctuary * Quebrada de La Plata Nature Sanctuary * Quebrada de Córdova Nature Sanctuary * Quebrada Llau Llau Nature Sanctuary * Área de Palma Chilena de Monte Aranda Nature Sanctuary * Cerro Poqui Nature Sanctuary * Raja de Manquehua - Poza Azul Nature Sanctuary * Humedales de Tongoy Nature Sanctuary * Humedal Río Maipo Nature Sanctuary * Cerro Santa Inés Nature Sanctuary * El Zaino - Laguna El Copín Nature Sanctuary * Humedal Costero Carrizal Bajo Nature Sanctuary

External links

References

{{reflist Ecoregions of Chile Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub Neotropical ecoregions Sclerophyll forests