Chilean Matorral
The Chilean Matorral (NT1201) is a terrestrial ecoregion of central Chile, located on the west coast of South America. It is in the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome, part of the Neotropical realm.
| Chilean Matorral (NT1201) | |
|---|---|
Matorral scene in San José de Maipo | |
Location in Chile | |
| Ecology | |
| Realm | Neotropical |
| Biome | Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub |
| Borders | |
| Geography | |
| Area | 148,500 km2 (57,300 sq mi) |
| Country | Chile |
| Climate type | BSk: arid, steppe, cold arid |
| Conservation | |
| Protected | 2,947 km² (2%) |
The matorral ecoregion is characterized by a temperate Mediterranean climate, with rainy winters and dry summers, and lies between the arid Atacama Desert and the humid Valdivian temperate forests. The ecoregion is home to diverse plant communities, including matorral or tall shrubland, forests and woodlands, savannas, and low shrubland and scrub.
The ecoregion is one of the world's five Mediterranean climate regions, which are all located in the middle latitudes on the west coast of continents. The Mediterranean Basin, the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion of California and Baja California, the Cape Province of South Africa, and Southwest Australia are the other Mediterranean-climate regions.