Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-8bhkd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-09T15:37:58.309Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

4 - Central Chile: how do introduced plants and animals fit into the landscape?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 December 2009

Get access

Summary

Within the Chilean region with a mediterranean climate sensu stricto (Aschmann, 1973; di Castri, 1973) there are two main types of landscapes: the low flatlands and the lower mountainous areas (Fuentes, 1988). The flatland areas are mainly found along the coast, in major river valleys, and constitute the Intermediate Depression (Figure 4.1). The second type of landscape, the low mountainous, occurs as the coastal ranges and the lower part of the Andes. Above these two landscapes are the desolate high Andean landscapes in which winter temperature is low and precipitation high. These high Andean landscapes are very important for land use in the areas with mediterranean climate because they serve as snow accumulators during the winter and supply water during the nonwinter seasons for agriculture and the urban centres of the lowland areas (Weischet, 1970). It is this high altitude water reservoir, all along central Chile, that allowed the lowland flatter areas to be developed and transformed into various types of cultivated fields.

The transformation of the low flatlands has been radical, to the extent that the original vegetation is frequently unknown and still a topic of some debate (see Oberdorfer, 1960; Mann, 1968; Fuentes et al., 1989, 1990). These lowlands are undoubtedly the most ‘domesticated’ or ‘artificial’ areas, where introduced plants and animals are most frequent and native species scarcest. These are also the areas where the overwhelming bulk of the Chilean human population lives and has lived since pre-Columbian times (García Vidal, 1982).

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 1991

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×