Bosques Templados Lluviosos de Los Andes Australes Biosphere Reserve

The Bosques Templados Lluviosos de Los Andes Australes ("Temperate Rainforests of the Southern Andes") Biosphere Reserve is located in southern Chile's Los Lagos and Los Ríos regions, as declared by UNESCO in 2007.

With a surface area of 2,168,956 ha (5,359,600 acres), the Biosphere Reserve protects a large portion of the Valdivian temperate rainforest ecoregion. Its summits include the Osorno and Puntiagudo volcanoes and Mount Tronador, an extinct stratovolcano that peaks at 3,470 m (11,380 ft) asl.

The area covered by this Biosphere Reserve was included in a list of 238 ecoregions, among the 800 worldwide, hosting the planet's most extraordinary and representative biodiversity. In addition, it is classified as one of Earth's largest and most ecologically intact forest remnants by the World Resources Institute (WRI).

Protected Areas

Bosques Templados de Los Andes Australes Biosphere Reserve is comprised of the following protected areas:

• Villarrica National Park (partially)

• Puyehue National Park

• Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park

• Alerce Andino National Park

• Hornopirén National Park

• Mocho-Choshuenco National Reserve

• Llanquihue National Reserve

• Futaleufú National Reserve

Ecological Characteristics

This Biosphere Reserve corresponds to a section of the Valdivian ecoregion. It is a rich mosaic of ecological systems due to its considerable latitudinal and altitudinal gradients compressed in a narrow belt. Consequently, it gives rise to varied climatic, hydrological and soil conditions and many species and processes.

The Bosques Templados de Los Andes Australes Biosphere Reserve contains four of the eleven biogeographical subregions identified for this ecoregion:

• Andean Araucaria Forests

• Mixed Nothofagus Forests

• Andean Larch Forests

• Aysen Coastal Forests

Various species of conifers are on the List of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), among them Fitzroya cupressoides, Araucaria araucana, and Pilgerodendron uviferum.

Socio-Economic

The main human activities are ecotourism, rural tourism, fishing, animal husbandry, farming, forestry management and aquaculture.