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The Chilean Matorral ecoregion is one of only five Mediterranean shrublands of its kind that together support 20 percent of the plant species on Earth. This ecoregion is the only Mediterranean climate shrubland and woodland in South America. Many species of endemic plants and animals live in localized parts of this ecoregion. Chile is a long, thin slice of land that changes drastically from north to south and east to west. The high Andes Mountains rise in the east, while the cold waters of the Pacific Ocean wash up against the western coast. The north is desert and the south is icy and cold. In the middle of all this lies the Chilean Matorral, a densely vegetated ecoregion with a moderate climate. Many of the species here are endemic and are adapted to highly localized habitats.
One of the reasons that so much can grow in central Chile is that many rivers and streams flow into the area from high in the Andes. These waterways deposit minerals that make the soils fertile. Summers are warm and dry, winters are cool and wet. The wet periods here support a mix of hardwood trees, shrubs, cactuses, and grasses.
Many species of cactus grow throughout the Chilean Matorral, along with many other species of plants adapted to Mediterranean climates. A rich idversity of plants are unique to this ecoreigon and nearly 1,500 species of plants are endemic. Several whole genera of trees and other plants found here are endemic, as is one entire family of trees, which is highly unusual. One species of tree, the huge Chilean palm, has a very restricted range and is highly threatened. Among the animals found in the Chilean Matorral are several species of lizards, including various South American swifts of the genus Liolaemus. Other animals include five endemic rodents, a species of mouse opossum, and 15 endemic birds, including three species of tapaculo birds, the Chilean mockingbird, the Chilean Tinamou, and the giant hummingbird, the world's largest. Tapaculos and tinamous have particularly beautiful songs in the morning.
More people are moving to central Chile, causing an increase in development--from more roads and homes to large areas cleared for crops and grazing livestock. In some cases, people use fire to clear the land--which has destroyed a large part of the Chilean Matorral. People have also brought plants and animals into the ecoregion from other places that compete with native species.
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