Ecotourism in Chile

摘要

Research at SNRAS, while primarily focused on northern climes, sometimes crosses the globe to high-altitude areas in warmer lands. Masters degree graduate Scott Harris focused his thesis on Chilean ecotourism in the Valdivian temperate rainforests. The Valdivian forest is one of the world's five great temperate rainforests, and the only one in South America. It is a dazzling example of biodiversity, containing over seventy percent of the woody plants found in Chile, including more than 122 species ofvascular plants. According to the World Wildlife Fund, these forests include the monkey puzzle tree (Araucaria araucana), a tree existing since the time of dinosaurs, and the second oldest living organism on earth; and the alerce (Fitzroya cupressoides), a conifer that can live to 3,600 years old, measuring up to 16.5 feet in diameter and 198 feet in height. The forest is home to a unique assemblage of animal species, including the threatened Chilean guemal (Hippocamelus bisulcus), the small feline known as the kodkod (Oncifelis guigna), the world's smallest deer, the Southern pudu (Pudúpudo), the Southern river otter (Lutra provocax), and the rufous-legged owl (Strix rufipes), a cousin of the Northern spotted owl (Strix occidentailis caurina) of the U.S. Pacific coast.