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Valdivian Temperate Rainforest Facts

Valdivian Temperate Rainforest Facts
The Valdivian Temperate Rainforest is 95,800 square mile region of South America that encompasses parts of Chile and Argentina. The rainforest is named after Valdivia, in Southern Chile which is named after the city's founder Pedro de Valdivia. The Valdivian Temperate Rainforest is famous for its endemic plants and 150 foot tall trees, as well as its rare animal species. Temperate characterized by several factors including their location in a temperate zone with average temperatures between 4 degrees and 12 degrees Celsius, and they receive a large amount of rainfall. Temperate rainforests are found in limited numbers in the world mostly in regions near the ocean where moisture is abundant.
Interesting Valdivian Temperate Rainforest Facts:
The trees in the Valdivian Temperate Rainforest are made up of mixed forests and temperate broad leafs.
Many of the plants families found in the Valdivian Temperate Rainforest are also found in the temperate rainforests of Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand.
Half of the woody plant species found in the Valdivian Temperate Rainforest are endemic to the region - referred to as an eco-region.
Because of excessive logging in the Valdivian Temperate Rainforest many of the old growth tree species are threatened. The eucalyptus and pines are used to replace after being cut and are more useful to the logging companies because they grow more quickly.
Westerlies (winds from the west to east) help to create the large amount of rainfall in the Valdivian Temperate Rainforest.
Within the Valdivian Temperate Rainforest there are four forest ecosystems including the deciduous forests, laurel-leafed forests, Patagonian Andean forests, and the Northern Patagonian forests.
There are threatened mammal species in the Valdivian Temperate Rainforest, some of which include the southern pudu (smallest deer species in the world), the monito del monte (arboreal marsupial), and the kodkod (the smallest cat species in South America).
Some of the oldest tree species found in the Valdivian Temperate Forest includes the Olivillo trees and the alerce trees.
Olivillo trees, which are found on the western slopes of the Valdivian coastal region, can live to be 400 years old. Alerce trees, found in the Valdivian Temperate Forest as well, look like the giant sequoias of North America and can live to be 4000 years old. The alerce is also the second oldest living organism on the planet.
South America's largest woodpecker, called the Magellanic woodpecker, is found in the Valdivian Temperate Rainforest.
Since the Europeans first began to arrive in regions where Valdivian rainforests existed, only 40% of the trees in those regions remain, due to logging and development. 70% of the forests of this type are found in Chile.
The Valdivian Temperate Rainforest is home to the monkey puzzle tree, a species that is endemic to the region. It is a tree that has existed since dinosaurs roamed the earth.
Major threats to the Valdivian Temperate Rainforest include logging, plantation development, and the replacement of native tree species with fast growing and more profitable species.
Because Chile is considered to be a developed country, funding from the international community for NGOs (non-government organizations) for conservation and protection of the forests and ecosystems is difficult to acquire.


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