Name:
Valdivian Montane & Upper Montane Evergreen Forest Macrogroup
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This macrogroup includes various types of temperate forests which have in common the dominance of either coniferous or evergreen species, in both cases mixed with deciduous species, and are distributed in the southern Andes. Some types occur in Argentina and Chile, but others are restricted to Chile. The <i>Araucaria araucana</i> forest, distributed from 800-1600 m elevation, is characterized by an emergent canopy of this conifer with a deciduous subcanopy stratum of <i>Nothofagus dombeyi</i> or <i>Nothofagus pumilio</i>. In the understory is frequently the presence of <i>Chusquea culeou</i>, which can completely cover the ground in some situations. The basal stratum is usually dense and is composed of juveniles of the dominant tree species and by a diverse assemblage of other shrubs and herbaceous species such as <i>Pseudopanax laetevirens, Drimys andina, Adenocaulon chilense</i>, and <i>Lagenophora hirsuta</i>. In some situations <i>Araucaria araucana</i> forms a shorter and very open canopy with a well-developed layer of graminoids such as <i>Festuca scabriuscula</i> and <i>Poa trigtismatica</i>. Another type included is the <i>Austrocedrus chilensis</i> forest, dominated by this conifer and by <i>Nothofagus dombeyi</i> in the upper canopy. This forest occurs in sub-humid localities of the southern Andes and therefore with larger extensions on the Argentinian side in the Neuquen and Rio Negro provinces between 800-1100 m elevation. Another coniferous forest included in this macrogroup is the tall <i>Fitzroya cupressoides</i> forest (alerce), distributed from 800-1200 m elevation in the hyper-humid slopes of the coastal ranges and Andean slopes of southern Chile. Associated species of this forest are <i>Nothofagus nitida, Nothofagus betuloides</i>, and <i>Podocarpus nubigenus</i> in the canopy stratum and <i>Gevuina avellana, Chusquea macrostachya, Drimys andina</i>, and <i>Embothrium coccineum</i> in the understory. The last group included here are the highly diverse (Valdivian) evergreen forests distributed in southern Chile under hyper-humid conditions of the coastal and Andes cordillera between 800-1200 m asl. It is a multi-stratified forest, 30-40 m high, rich in epiphytes and lianas, growing on mostly drained but highly humic soils. Diagnostic species are <i>Weinmannia trichosperma, Chrysosplenium valdivianum, Luzuriaga radicans, Podocarpus nubigenus, Laureliopsis philippiana, Saxegothea conspicua, Drimys winteri, Nothofagus dombeyi, Nothofagus nitida, Campsidium valdivianum, Philesia magellanica, Pseudopanax laetevirens, Elytropus chilensis, Amomyrtus luma</i>, and <i>Myrceugenia exsucca</i>.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:40910-{CF10A8B8-8055-4065-8D60-C4F4B3F02929}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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