5
1.2.3 Chaco Subtropical Dry Forest
Better known simply as the “Chaco,” it is the main forest ecoregion in Argentina,
where it has its greatest development, extending to Bolivia, Paraguay, and a small
portion of Brazil. It occupies a plain with warm continental climate, and average
annual temperatures from 20 °C to 23 °C, but usually exceeding 45 °C in summer.
Annual rainfall decreases east to west from 1200 mm to 500 mm, with a marked dry
season (winter) in the west, thus allowing to recognize a wet Chaco and a dry Chaco.
A deciduous xerophilous forest predominates, with a stratum of grasses and numerous cacti and terrestrial bromeliads. Among the main forest species are Schinopsis
balansae, Aspidosperma quebracho-blanco, Caesalpinia paraguariensis,
Gonopterodendron sarmientoi, and numerous species of the genus Prosopis, of
which P. alba is the one with the highest forest value. There are also palm groves of
Copernicia alba or Trithrinax campestris.
1.2.4 Sub-Antarctic Temperate Forest
It develops on both sides of the Andes Mountains, from 34° 50′ S to the south of the
Tierra del Fuego archipelago. The Argentine portion is locally called the PatagonianAndean Forest and extends in a narrow strip on the slopes of the Andes from 36° 50′
S to Ushuaia, between the border with Chile and the Patagonian steppe. The climate
is cold temperate, with annual rainfall of 2500 to 700 mm, a dry summer season in
the northern portion and a more homogeneous distribution of the precipitations in
the south. Precipitation depends primarily on the humidity of the Pacific Ocean and
forms an abrupt gradient over distances of less than 50 km.
It is a temperate mountain forest, composed of monotypic or mixed stands of two
or three dominant species, with bamboo undergrowth in the northern part and some
accompanying shrubs. The genus Nothofagus predominates with six species
(Fig. 1.2), being N. pumilio and N. antarctica the most widely distributed. There are
also some conifers of great regional importance, such as Austrocedrus chilensis,
Araucaria araucana, and Fitzroya cupressoides.
1.2.5 Espinal Xerophytic Forest
It is a xerophilous forest, of exclusively Argentine distribution, similar to Chaco but
lower and poorer in species, also with the presence of palm groves. The climate is
warm and humid in its northern part but mild and dry in its southern portion: the
average rainfall varies from 1100 mm to 350 mm in the year and the average temperatures from 20 °C to 15 °C. Regarding the specific composition of its forest elements, Prosopis is its emblematic genus, with several species that define three
1 Native Forests Claim for Breeding in Argentina: General Concepts and Their State
1.2.3 Chaco Subtropical Dry Forest
Better known simply as the “Chaco,” it is the main forest ecoregion in Argentina,
where it has its greatest development, extending to Bolivia, Paraguay, and a small
portion of Brazil. It occupies a plain with warm continental climate, and average
annual temperatures from 20 °C to 23 °C, but usually exceeding 45 °C in summer.
Annual rainfall decreases east to west from 1200 mm to 500 mm, with a marked dry
season (winter) in the west, thus allowing to recognize a wet Chaco and a dry Chaco.
A deciduous xerophilous forest predominates, with a stratum of grasses and numerous cacti and terrestrial bromeliads. Among the main forest species are Schinopsis
balansae, Aspidosperma quebracho-blanco, Caesalpinia paraguariensis,
Gonopterodendron sarmientoi, and numerous species of the genus Prosopis, of
which P. alba is the one with the highest forest value. There are also palm groves of
Copernicia alba or Trithrinax campestris.
1.2.4 Sub-Antarctic Temperate Forest
It develops on both sides of the Andes Mountains, from 34° 50′ S to the south of the
Tierra del Fuego archipelago. The Argentine portion is locally called the PatagonianAndean Forest and extends in a narrow strip on the slopes of the Andes from 36° 50′
S to Ushuaia, between the border with Chile and the Patagonian steppe. The climate
is cold temperate, with annual rainfall of 2500 to 700 mm, a dry summer season in
the northern portion and a more homogeneous distribution of the precipitations in
the south. Precipitation depends primarily on the humidity of the Pacific Ocean and
forms an abrupt gradient over distances of less than 50 km.
It is a temperate mountain forest, composed of monotypic or mixed stands of two
or three dominant species, with bamboo undergrowth in the northern part and some
accompanying shrubs. The genus Nothofagus predominates with six species
(Fig. 1.2), being N. pumilio and N. antarctica the most widely distributed. There are
also some conifers of great regional importance, such as Austrocedrus chilensis,
Araucaria araucana, and Fitzroya cupressoides.
1.2.5 Espinal Xerophytic Forest
It is a xerophilous forest, of exclusively Argentine distribution, similar to Chaco but
lower and poorer in species, also with the presence of palm groves. The climate is
warm and humid in its northern part but mild and dry in its southern portion: the
average rainfall varies from 1100 mm to 350 mm in the year and the average temperatures from 20 °C to 15 °C. Regarding the specific composition of its forest elements, Prosopis is its emblematic genus, with several species that define three
1 Native Forests Claim for Breeding in Argentina: General Concepts and Their State