''Nothofagus alessandrii'', commonly known as the ruil, is a species of plant in the family

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

, it is also known as the southern beeches. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

, occurring chiefly in the Chilean matorral ecoregion. It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

. The species is protected within Los Ruiles National Reserve.

Description

This is a deciduous tree with a straight, gray trunk that can measure up to 30 metres tall. Its leaves are ovate, ovate-cordate or lanceolate in shape, with conspicuous primary veins and serrated edges. The greenish flowers are unisexual and inconspicuous.

Range and habitat

The ruil grows between 37º 05' and 37º 50' south latitude, in the

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

(Cordillera de la Costa) in

Talca Talca () is a city and commune in Chile located about south of Santiago, and is the capital of both Talca Province and Maule Region (7th Region of Chile). As of the 2012 census, the city had a population of 201,142. The city is an important ...

and Cauquenes provinces of

Maule Region The Maule Region (, ) is one of Chile's 16 first order administrative divisions. Its capital is Talca. The region derives its name from the Maule River which, running westward from the Andes, bisects the region and spans a basin of about 20,6 ...

. The species' estimated

extent of occurrence Extent may refer to: Computing * Extent (file systems), a contiguous region of computer storage medium reserved for a file * Extent File System, a discontinued file system implementation named after the contiguous region * Extent, a chunk of st ...

(EOO) is , and its

area of occupancy Area is the measure of a region's size on a surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while ''surface area'' refers to the area of an open surface or the boundary of a three-dimen ...

(AOO) is . It is a characteristic tree of the Maulino forest plant community, which is transitional between the Mediterranean-climate Chilean matorral of Central Chile and the mild temperate and humid

Valdivian temperate forests The Valdivian temperate forests (NT0404) is an ecoregion on the west coast of southern South America, in Chile and Argentina. It is part of the Neotropical realm. The forests are named after the city of Valdivia. The Valdivian temperate rainfores ...

of southern Chile. Present-day ruil forests grow in an area that is climatically homogeneous. The ruil tend to form pure stands. The species grow often in the same places where hualo (''Nothofagus glauca'') can be found.

Ecology

In its natural habitat ''N. alessandrii'' forms a symbiotic relationship with the

ectomycorrhizal fungus An ectomycorrhiza (from Ancient Greek, Greek ἐκτός ', "outside", μύκης ', "fungus", and ῥίζα ', "root"; ectomycorrhizas or ectomycorrhizae, abbreviated EcM) is a form of symbiotic relationship that occurs between a fungal symbion ...

'' Cenococcum geophilum'', which helps the trees survive drought stress. San Martín Acevedo, José (2022). ''Los Bosques Relictos de Ruil: Ecología, Biodiversidad, Conservación y Restauración''. Instituto Forestal, Chile.

Conservation

The current populations are considered remnants of what was once a larger and more continuous range. According to a 1988 study, the species is scattered in about 185 land-holdings, each of which have one or two hectares. These enclaves are surrounded by commercial plantations of ''

Pinus radiata ''Pinus radiata'' ( syn. ''Pinus insignis''), the Monterey pine, insignis pine or radiata pine, is a species of pine native to the Central Coast of California and Mexico (on Guadalupe Island and Cedros island). It is an evergreen conifer in t ...

'' (an introduced species), and agricultural croplands and livestock for survival, hindering the expansion of its habitat. The pine plantations are susceptible to wildfires, which can be worsened by the effects of

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

. Wildfire is considered the current greatest threat to the species. The 2017 Chile wildfires decreased the species' area of occupancy by 45%, and devastated the population at Piedra del Montaña. Los Ruiles National Reserve, which consists of two separate areas totaling 45 ha, was created to protect one of the species' largest remaining forest habitats.

Hybrids

* Ruil hybridises with the red beech tree (''Nothofagus fusca'') from New Zealand to form the hybrid species ''Nothofagus × eugenananus''.

Sources

* C. Michael Hogan & World Wildlife Fund. 2013
Chilean matorral. ed. M.McGinley. Encyclopedia of Earth. National Council for Science and the Environment
Washington DC

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q1333877, from2=Q15377654, from3=Q42742862 Nothofagaceae Endemic flora of Chile Flora of the Valdivian temperate forests Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Plants described in 1926 Trees of Chile Fagales of Chile