On the Northern Fringe of the South American Temperate Forest: The History and Conservation of the Monkey-Puzzle Tree

Abstract

Central and southern Chile and adjacent areas of Argentina contain one of the world's great stands of temperate forest, stretching nearly two thousand kilometers from 35 to 55 degrees south latitude. Due to a unique combination of environmental factors, this forest represents one of the highest standing biomasses of any terrestrial ecosystem, and it exhibits a high level of endemism. For example, standing biomass has been measured at more than one thousand tons per hectare, and 34 percent of the planet's angiosperms are found only in the South American temperate forest. Endemic to its northern extremes, the monkey-puzzle tree (Araucaria araucana) is a long-lived conifer that the German naturalist E. Poeppig referred to as the king of nontropical American trees. The species has exceptional economic and cultural significance. The seed of the monkey-puzzle tree, or pinion, has long been a staple food for the Araucanos, an indigenous group of southern Chile and Argentina. The timber industry also prized the tree for its high-quality, valuable wood. The monkey-puzzle tree also plays an important part in the national identity of Chile and Argentina. Chilean poet Pablo Neruda wrote of its majestic qualities in Oda a la Araucaria Araucana, and an image of the tree figures as a backdrop in the official seal of Argentina's Neuquen province. Yet, like many of the other species in South America's temperate forest, the monkey-puzzle tree has been pushed to the vanishing point. Human activity has depleted the tree throughout much of its natural range, and over the years the Araucanos, the timber industry, and environmentalists have often been at odds regarding the most effective and sustainable way to use and manage the species., This study seeks to outline the ethnobotanical and economic importance of the monkey-puzzle tree and to assess the relation of human activity to its distribution and conservation. Primary data were collected through open-ended interviews in two Araucano communities: Ralco Lepoy, in Chile, and Aigo, in Argentina. This