Parque Nacional de Campana, Chile Photograph by David Olson   Southeastern South America: Central Chile Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands, and Scrub   57,300 square miles (148,500 square kilometers) -- about the size of Michigan Critical/Endangered

· A Diverse Mosaic
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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A Diverse Mosaic

The Chilean Matorral ecoregion is a patchy mosaic of parks and agricultural areas interspersed among towns and cities. The region’s appearance and climate have been likened to the chaparral of California. Bound on the north by the Atacama Desert, on the south by the Valdivian forests, on the east by the Andes, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the region is relatively isolated. For this reason, the area contains many endemic species.

Special Features

The Chilean Matorral is the only Mediterranean scrub ecoregion in all of South America, and it is one of only five such ecosystems in the world. It’s called Mediterranean because the climate is like that of the region around the Mediterranean Sea, which is characterized by hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters. The vegetation of the ecoregion is mostly made up of evergreen shrubs surrounded by a seasonal cover of herbaceous perennials (bulbs, ferns, and vines) and some annuals.

	La Campana National Park has the largest of the few remaining stands of the native Chilean palm. This palm, one of the largest in the world, is a favorite of landscapers because of its beauty and its tolerance of drought, humidity, and cold. It can be found growing ornamentally in Switzerland, France, and even Britain.

Wild Side

A number of endemic birds are found in this ecoregion, including Chilean tinamous, moustached turcas, and Chilean mockingbirds. Other birds in the area include Andean condors, red-backed hawks, mountain parakeets, and long-tailed meadowlarks. Along the coast, you can find Humbolt penguins, royal and Buller’s albatrosses, pink-footed shearwaters, and Inca terns. You can also find a variety of interesting mammals here, including the yaca (a medium-sized mouse opossum), pichi (a small, hairy armadillo), South American and gray fox, kodok (a rare, housecat-sized wildcat), Andean cat, puma, and pudu (the smallest deer in the Western Hemisphere).

Cause for Concern

Santiago (Chile’s capitol) and other major cities are located within this ecoregion and contain the majority of Chile’s human population. The ecoregion is threatened by conversion for agriculture and pasture, suburban expansion and other forms of development, and frequent human-induced fires. Introductions of exotic species also pose a serious threat to many local and endemic plants, birds, and mammals.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.