Chilean Matorral Ecoregion (Chile)

Chilean Matorral Ecoregion (Chile)

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Located on the west coast of South America, the Chilean Matorral is a terrestrial ecoregion of central Chile. It contains most of Chile's population and is typically characterized by a temperate Mediterranean climate. It is home to Chile's renowned wine and agricultural regions.

Chilean Matorral

The Chilean Matorral is a terrestrial ecoregion of central Chile located on the west coast of South America. It is in the Mediterranean forests, woodlands and scrub biome.

The ecoregion constitutes a 100 km-wide strip extending along the central part of the Chilean coast. This long and narrow ecoregion is bound west by the Pacific Ocean and east by the southern Andes. It is home to Chile's renowned wine region and main agricultural region.

The ecoregion occupies central Chile between 32° and 37° south latitude. The Pacific Ocean 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 Desert, which separates the Matorral from the tropical forests of northern South America.

The Chilean 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 regions, located in the middle latitudes on the west coast of continents.

Flora and Fauna

The Chilean Matorral ecoregion is home to several plant communities.

  • Coastal Matorral is a low, soft scrubland that extends from La Serena in the north to Valparaiso in the south.

  • Matorral is a shrubland plant community composed of shrubs, small trees, cacti and bromeliads.

  • Espinal is a savanna plant community composed of widely spaced clumps of trees with an understory of annual grasses.

  • 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.

The ecoregion has various endemic plant species with affinities to the tropics, the Antarctic and the Andes. About 95% of the plant species are Chilean endemic, including Gomortega keule, Pitavia punctata, Nothofagus alessandrii and Jubaea chilensis.

The Chilean Matorral has several threatened plant species; some endangered species are Adiantum gertrudis, Avellanita bustillosii and Beilschmiedia berteroana. In addition, seven endemic birds are found at altitudes ranging from rocky slopes to arid scrub.

Representative mammals of the region include the mouse opossum, Andean fox, puma, Chilean pudu, pichi armadillo, and the endangered Andean mountain cat. The degu is a common rodent found throughout Chile that primarily feeds on shrub vegetation. Several species of lizards of the Liolaemus genus are also present in this region.

Protected Status

The Chilean Matorral contains most of Chile's population and most prominent cities. The Central Valley, Chile's main agricultural 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.

Map depicting the location of the Chilean Matorral (in purple)

Map depicting the location of the Chilean Matorral (in purple)