The Explorers Club Flag # 24 Alerce Field Study, Chile

Date: 15 February -6 March 2010

Location: Cochamo Valley Chile

 

Flag 24 Team, family and friends: Jose 'Cote" Zegers (Expedition leader), Sebastian Lazo, Maria Green, Nicole Watson, German Noguera, Martin Zegers, Elivera Swinburn, Jason Paterniti

Summary

This Flag Report describes the findings from the exploration of the Cochamo Valley region of Chile undertaken to identify previously undocumented stands of the endangered Alerce tree (Fitzroya Cupressoides). The expedition was conducted between 15 February and 6 March, 2010 over an area 5,400 km2. Two Alerce stands were located and surveyed and two other sites were identified.

To download the full Flag Report click here: Flag 24 Report


Introduction:

The Alerce is amongst the largest, oldest and unfortunately most endangered tree on the planet. Due to a combination of over-harvesting as well as extensive loss of habitat, experts estimate that only 15 percent of the original Alerce population remains.

Alerce are only known to exist in the southern hemisphere, primarily in the temperate rainforests of Chile and Argentina. This habitat provides the unique combination of moisture, elevation, soil, light and temperature conditions necessary for the Alerce to thrive. However, temperate rainforests, which cover an area just 3% the size of the world’s endangered tropical rain forests, continue to be destroyed at an alarming rate.

In November 2009, as part of our first expedition to the area, we attempted to locate and catalog previously undocumented Alerce stands thought to exist deep in the Valdivian forest. We undertook this expedition in order to help raise the global profile of this magnificent tree as well as that of the endangered temperate rainforest. Additionally, we hoped to confirm the existence of a massive (and hence ancient) Alerce rumored to exist deep in the forest which, if found, could help us extend our understanding of historical climate changes.

We selected the Cochamo Valley region of Chile because:

• Few studies have been made of Alerce in this area

• The valley does not enjoy protected status as a National Park or Nature Sanctuary

• Unless protected trees are identified and monitored, this area is at risk of further exploitation and development

Late season snow made the only trail providing access into Cochamo impassable during our first attempt. A second expedition was scheduled for February 2010, the results of which are summarized herein.

Objectives:

• Contribute to our understanding of Chile’s endangered temperate rainforests by exploring some of the more remote regions of the Valdivian Rainforest.

• Identify the locations and date previously undocumented Alerce (Fitzroya Cupressoides) trees in the Cochamo Valley of Chile.

• Confirm the existence and location of a particularly old Alerce rumored to exceed 20 meters in circumference.

Background:
From a conservation perspective, Alerce are valuable because they are extremely slow growing (less than 1 millimeter a year) and thus are essentially non-renewable in our life-times. Alerce are useful for climate change measurement as like most trees, each year it forms a new layer of wood underneath the bark known as a “ring”. The size of these rings expands and contracts or ”surges” based on factors of temperature and rainfall. Due to their resistance to rot as well as the age that these trees can reach, Alerce are especially useful to climate researchers because they can be used in the development of long chronologies. (Holmes, 1985) Despite how little remains of these forests they are at risk of becoming extinct due to illegal poaching or are located in areas of interest for potential hydro-electric development. The World Conservation Union (IUCN) Conifer Specialist Group considers the Alerce endangered, and is facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future.

Chile’s varied geography contains at least ten distinct forest types including three regions of temperate rainforest: the Magellanic, the North Patagonia and the Valdivian which collectively cover 7.6 million hectares, roughly 25 percent of the Earth’s total. (Wilcox, 1996, p. 21). The Valdivian forest is named after Pedro de Valdivia, a founder of Chile and one of Francisco Pizarro’s Conquistadors who conquered the Incas.

Characteristics of a temperate rainforest include:

• Broadleaf evergreen flora

• More than 1,400 mm annual rainfall

• More than 10% of the total rain fall occurs in summer

• Mean temp. not more than 16° during the warmest month

• Frequently overcast conditions in summer

• Infrequent fires

• Winter dormancy in plants
(Alaback)

Within the Valdivian temperate rainforest, there exist at least seven distinct sub classifications of forest type. Of these, the Alerce forest represents one of the most endangered and ecologically valuable forest types in the world. The Alerce's range at one time extended from the coastal mountains south of the city of Valdivia east to the wetter valleys on the Argentine side of the Andes and south to the slopes of the Michinmahido Volcano—a range of 150 miles long and 50 miles wide (Wilcox, 1996). However, early on the indigenous populations of Patagonia recognized the tree’s value as a building material and began logging the tree long before Spanish and then German immigrants migrated to the region, at which point, the speed of destruction increased exponentially.

Alerce (Fitzroya Cupressoides)

Fitzroya is a monotypic genus in the cypress family -Cupressaceae with a single species, Fitzroya Cupressoides, native to the Andes mountains of southern Chile and Argentina. While the scientific name of the genus honors Robert Fitz Roy, captain of Darwin’s H.M.S. Beagle, common names include Lahuan (the Mapuche Native American name), Alerce (South American Spanish), and Patagonian Cypress (Wikipedia).

To appreciate how rare these trees truly are consider this journal entry located in the Royal Geographical Society’s archives from Charles Darwin’s 1826 survey of South America:


“So great the difficulty of obtaining a spar of [Alerce], that when I wished to procure a new mast for the Adelaide, I offered four times the value of an alerse spar to the natives, besides the assistance of twenty men, and tackles, &c. to assist in conveying it to the beach. The temptation was almost too great to be withstood; but the man to whom I applied, who had before been employed to get masts for a schooner in the Chilean service, and a flag staff for the town, said that it would take his own party two months to bring one to the beach….the trees were distant, and there were two or three ridges of heights to cross, that would cause much delay. The facility with which these people usually handle timber was sufficient proof to me that such a task, if refused by them, must be very difficult indeed, and I gave it up”-Captain King (Fitz-Roy R. , 1839, pp. 282-283)

Preservation Efforts:

In 1976, the Chilean government designated the Alerce a Natural Monument and outlawed the cutting of live trees, although it is legal to harvest them when fallen. In the same year, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES, Appendix 1) prohibited the international sale of Alerce products. Unfortunately, large-scale clearing activity in the past, combined with the Alerce's very slow growth, poor regeneration, and illegal cutting, seriously impedes any notable increase in the species (AFI).

Expedition Route:

Most of the surviving Alerce stands are located in the higher slopes of the Andes, or in isolated valleys at elevations above 700 meters. Their remaining habitat ranges from 40 S to 44S and in the coastal mountains and on the island of Chiloe from 39 S to 42.5 S (Wilcox, 1996, p. 26) Our field study was conducted in the Cochamo Valley located in Llanquihue province, Los Lagos Region, Chile. Los Lagos, or Region X, is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions. Geographically Region X covers the southernmost portion of the Andes Mountains to the west and south and low plains to the east.

Within the Cochamo valley, we were specifically looking for pockets of the trees at 700 meters or higher. Based on numerous interviews with locals familiar with the valley, we had identified two areas of interest where we expected to find Alerce clusters.


Our plan was to survey the entire Cochamo Valley by making a large loop which would take us over the Andes and into Argentina and then back into Chile where we would use a number of lakes to circle back to Cochamo where we would conduct more detailed studies.

Identifying Target Areas

During the first stage of the expedition we conducted an initial survey of the two target areas and also looked for evidence of additional clusters. Once we completed this initial investigation the plan was to head back to specific areas to conduct more detailed studies.

Logistics:

Horses were selected as the most effective means to carry the team, supplies and equipment through the more remote sections of the route (approximately 75km) which is typically dry during February/March. Trucks, boats and transporting gear on foot were also required at various points.

Dating Methodologies:

Rumors of massive Alerce’s living far in the forest out of the reach of loggers are at least as old as Darwin’s survey of South America:

“The largest alerse tree that has been found by any Calbucano during the last forty years measured thirty feet in girth (circ of 9.15 meters), at five feet from the ground; and more than seventy six feet to the first branches. The two largest trees seen by Mr. Douglas, in his excursions for me, measured one twenty four (7.31 meters) and the other twenty-two feet round (6.7meters), at five feet from the from the ground: but these were dead trees, hollow in the centre. He saw none above ten feet in circumference (3 meters), that were quite sound. Report however says, that in the Cordillera, out of the reach of the Calbuco woodsmen, there are enormous trees, from thirty (9 meters) to forty (12.2 meters) in girth”- Robert Fitz-Roy, 1839 (Fitz-Roy R. , 1839)


Many sources cite that Charles Darwin reported finding a specimen 40 meters in circumference. We also had heard rumors of massive Alerce, including one whose circumference exceeds 20 meters, which would make it well over 6 meters in diameter, or 6,000+ years.

Preparing to measure one of the larger Alerce trees located in “Cluster A”

In 1993, an Alerce specimen from Chile was dated as 3,622 years old. This gives it the second-greatest fully verified (by counting growth rings) age for any living tree, after the Great Basin Bristlecone Pine which has been dated to 4,800+ years (Wikipedia). Rick Klein, an expert on the Alerce, conducted a three year study of ring counts and diameter extrapolations over hundreds of hectare of clear cut forest. He concluded that regardless of coastal or Andean location, high or low altitude, the diameter of the Alerce expands at a consistent average rate of 4/5 millimeters annually. Thus a tree which is 2 meters in diameter is very likely to be minimally 2,000 years old. In support of his findings, Klein cites similar conclusions reached by Paul Alaback, Nate Stephenson and Daniel Gonzalez. (Klein, 2010)

During our survey we attempted to take uniform circumference measurements at 4 ½ feet above ground level. Many of the Alerce were located on extremely uneven ground and here we followed common practice of estimating 4½ feet from where the tree enters the ground along the axis of the tree. (americanforests.org/resources). All of the larger trees we measured had significant amounts of loose bark as well as very rough surfaces with deep ravines further complicating the measuring process.

(See Appendix I for specific data sample information).

Findings & Results:

15 February, 2010

Santiago, Chile

We arrive in Chile from D.C. via Miami. Our first week is spent planning the route and identifying target areas as well as organizing the horses and gear. The American contingent also takes advantage of this time to get in a few days riding 4 hours a day to prepare for the trek.

22 February, 2010

Santiago, Chile

Today starts just before 4am as we have to catch the 5am flight to Puerto Montt which will be our jumping off point to Cochamo. Half the team flies while the other half drives all of the gear and supplies down in a truck overnight for the 1,000 km trip down to Puerto Montt. In addition to avoiding 10 hours in a packed truck, the plane flight affords a stunning view of sunrise over the Andes. The truck arrives from Santiago just after 9am. After collecting and reorganizing supplies, food and gear, we head towards our initial target area in the Cochamo valley 180kms south east of Puerto Varas. Our route took us west on R 225 from Puerto Varas along Lago Llanquihue and passing the town of Ensenada. At S41 °22’47 W 72 °17’16 the sealed road gave way to gravel. Heading east we reached the trail head along the Cochamo River

Cochamo Trail head

S 41 °27’20.8”

W 72° 13’.13.1”

After transferring gear and supplies form the trucks to the horses we head north east through a more humid section and lower altitude section (50 meters above sea level) of the Valdivian forest which contains trees typical of the Alerce & Siempreverde forest type such as: Coihue, Arrayan, Luma, Ulmo, Olivillo and Manio trees.

Transferring gear on to the horses at the Trailhead

On our first morning we covered 12.8kms in 2 ½ hours at an average pace of 4.1kms/h.

After lunch we continue on another 6.5 kilometers through increasingly difficult terrain. We would come to learn that Chile experienced an unusually wet summer in 2009/10 making conditions muddy.

This section of the trail is known as the Inferno y Paloma by the locals and at various points our team had to dismount and let the horses navigate through the wet & rocky sections of the trail as best they could.

Just before sunset, we stop in an area called La Junta, S 41 °24’36”, W 72° 05’.30”. We are well short of our intended overnight bivouac for the night.

 

 

Base Camp: Horses grazed, we slept

This area has become increasingly popular wit

h rock climbers from around the world. Its 1,000 meter granite walls are often compared to Yosemite in the USA. We passed through a refuge which serves as a base camp for the Trinidad Mountain.

23 February, 2010

Base Camp 1

We depart after breakfast making for Cluster A which should be located approximately three hours from base camp. Around S 41 °24’, 56” W 72° 03’.57” we were forced to dismount as the trail conditions deteriorated.

 

The forest is essentially intact and undistributed in this area of Chile. Even though the area is remote Alerce clusters are few and spatially discontinuous. Over an area 150km2 we had been able to identify only two specific locations which we could confirm Alerce were known to exist.

S 41 °25’35”,

W 72° 02’.56”

First sub set of Alerce trees located between 662 and 700 meters.

In this area we catalogued 34 Alerce with No. 30 measuring approximately 11.15 meters in circumference, 3.5 meters in diameter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flag 24 in front of Alerce “No. 30”: Estimated to be 3,500 to 5,200 years old

Additional Alerce trees were identified further to the south of Cluster A. The forest is extremely dense and mountainous in this area and it took us up to 30 minutes to move from one tree to another. We identified this area for further study during stage 2.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Navigating the forest was a challenge at times

S 41 °25’16”,

W 72° 02’.43”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cluster B

Approximately two kilometers from Location A, we reached our second cluster of Alerce at approximately 687 meters. Here we catalogued 26 trees including 4 Alerce of significant size an altitude of up to 717 meters. Our local guides advised us that further into the forest in this area there exists a tree whose circumference exceeds 20 meters. However they did not know its location and its existence could not be verified.  After taking more measurements we continue along the trail to look for additional Alerce clusters before circling back to take more detailed studies of the locations we had already identified.

Continuing east from Location B we began to climb rapidly and the trail again became increasingly difficult.

At S 41 °26’03”, W 72° 00’.44” we passed through the worst section of the trail called the “Nanas” or maid’s path. Here one of the horses fell injuring Markos, one of our guides. A bit further on one of the pack horses lost its footing and injured its rear back leg.

Then it got dark. We crossed the Andes that night at approximately 8:45 pm at a height of 1,009 meters. At 11pm we had made it down out of the mountains to a pasture finally reaching our bivouac location after 13 hours riding in which we managed only 15 kilometers at an overall speed of just 2.3 kilometers/hr.

We found refuge along the shore of Lago Vidal Gormaz at the house of Sonia Bahamonde and Manuel Altamirano who rented us a pasture for our horses to graze. They invited us into their cabin a small two room structure which got very cozy with 12 people, cats, dogs and a piping hot stove.

24 February 2010

Lago Vidal Gormaz

S 41 °27’11”

W 71° 57’.28”

Lago Vidal Gormaz

In the morning, refreshed after a night’s sleep, we packed up. The injured pack horse was unable to continue and we had to leave her at the farm to recover from her injuries.

Manso River:

S 41 °33’57”

W 71° 55’52”

We followed a path which ran along the western edge of Lago Vidal for 16.5kms. The path is relatively dry and flat and we managed almost 5 kilometers/hr or double yesterday’s pace.

We needed to push hard today to make up time lost yesterday as we need to reach the frontier with Argentina before sunset when the customs post closes.

Argentine Border

We arrive at the Chilean border around 6pm. Here we met a Huaso who says that 10 years ago his uncle found an Alerce tree which measured over two ropes lengths in an area not far from Cluster A. In Chile a “rope” is typically eight people long or 8 x 1.5 meters =12 meters which would mean a tree of 22 to 24 meters circumference. Having cleared customs on the Chilean side we again mounted up and continued on another 2.5 kilometers crossing a large wooden suspension bridge to reach the Argentine border at S 41 °30’57” W 71° 50’.44”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was not possible to cross into Argentina with Chilean horses so we arranged for a truck to meet us at the border to take us and our gear 90 kilometers to El Bolson where we would overnight before looping back North West to Cochamo. El Bolson is approximately 113 south of San Carlos de Bariloche and is a popular jumping off point for those heading into Patagonia.

 

25 February 2010

Lago Puelo, Argentina

Returning to Cochamo in Chile involved multiple lake crossing starting with Lago Puelo 20 kilometers south of El Bolson.

Lago Puelo

In Puelo, we hire a jet boat which at speed draws only 4 inches allowing us to pass through the rapids separating Lago Puelo from Lago Inferior. We crossed the border back into Chile by boat at S 42 °06’11” W 71° 43’.59”.

The captain, a native of California, who moved to Chile in 1967, drops us off at the end of the lake and graciously helped us hump the gear up the hill to the customs post.

As we no longer had the horses, we carry all of our gear on our backs. A few kilometers overland from the Lago Inferior we arrive at Lago las Rocas.

No roads exist in this area so we arrange for another boat to transport us across the lake.

Traveling due north we arrived at the other end where we hiked a few more kilometers to Lago Azul where we had arranged for another boat to transport us to the Puelo river where our trucks would be waiting to take us the last 6 kilometers to El Balseo our temporary base camp along the Puelo river.

Lago Azul

El Balseo, Chile

Today we rested and were able to re-stock for the second leg of the expedition. Tomorrow we will head back to Cochamo to meet with a local guide who claims he can lead us to the Alerce whose circumference exceeds 22 meters. Given the difficulty of the trails we encountered, we will abandon the horses and most of our gear and instead hike in on foot back to Location A which is approximately 18 kilometers from the trailhead in order to expand our search area of the first location. We will then overnight near Location A and in the morning head toward the two new sites.

27 February 2010

El Balseo

We are woken this morning by the ground shaking. As we have only a satalite phone which was turned off to save batteries, we are totally unaware of events unfolding to the north of us.

Plan for today is to travel by truck 40 kilometers to the Lago Tagua Tagua ferry which connects Llande Grande to Cochamo. In Cochamo we will meet with a local guide named Lucio and head back to the trailhead where we will camp overnight. We will spend three days conducting a wider area search around Cluster A & B as well as investigate two new locations.

Around 1130am while on the ferry to Cochamo we get our first news about the magnitude of the earthquake which has struck Chile to the north of us. Information is confused at this point but we begin to understand that a significant earthquake has created widespread damage around the area of Concepcion, a town 500 kilometers to the north of us (we later learn that a magnitude 8.8 earthquake and tsunami has created widespread damage killing over 700). This news is of great concern for our team as our guides have family in Concepcion.

After a brief meeting the decision is made to suspend the expedition and focus on trying to reach family members and friends located to the north some of our present location.

The trip to Puerto Varas from El Balseo along the Puelo River was approximately 195 kilometers and took 3 hours 45 minutes by truck and ferry.

In Puerto Varas we stocked up on non perishable food, water and diesel fuel for the trip. We grab a quick meal and then get on the road just after 6pm.

Structural damage was soon evident even this far south and we found that fuel were available, was being heavily rationed. Roads conditions are good as far north as Valdivia 250 kilometers north of Puerto Varas, we attempt to buy extra fuel containers but all the stores have already run out of both fuel and containers.

Collapsed bridge over 350 kilometers from the epicenter

Around midnight road conditions along the main north south route 5 begin to deteriorate as we get closer to Temuco.

Near Collipulli, our trucks take different routes with one vehicle heading towards Concepcion to rescue the five year old niece and two year old nephew of our guides while we continue north towards Santiago to try to collect some friends who are stuck in the capital. 500 kilometers south of Santiago, just before the town of Mulcen ,we are forced to detour over 100 kilometers east to the town of Quilaco and then head back west along local dirt roads to navigate around a collapsed main bridge on Route 5 which spans the Rio Biobío. The area has suffered heavy damage and is without electricity or water. All along this route entire villages have decamped on the side of the road the locals fearful of returning to their homes for fear of structural damage and or more earthquakes. We are amazed that despite the carnage all along the make shift highway local residents have cleared a path and are even out directing traffic. We would find throughout the next days that this was not an isolated situation but rather on the whole, the Chilean people and government managed the crisis effectively and efficiently.

Just past Putagan, Route 5 becomes again impassable and we are forced to divert for 20 kilometers along the L-202 a secondary road. Bridges where standing, must be crossed with caution as the wide gaps have opened up between the bridge and the ground.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A common scene along route 5

We are able to rejoin the main road at San Javier. Once back on Route 5, the way is passable but we encounter long stretches of road which was been cleaved into ravines 100’s of meters long and up to 3 meters wide and 3 to 10 meters deep. We are often force to divert across the central median which has been broken down to allow for traffic to move across to the other side of the divided highway. There are mountains of asphalt and rock debris which has been push upwards forming ridges perpendicular to the road sometimes 2 to 4 meters high in places.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Route 5 one week later, still impassable in places

A number of vehicles are strewn along the road some over turned some crushed under fallen over passes. We have a near miss with a truck that has crashed upside down in a massive pothole in the middle of the highway.

Just after sunrise, 1,262 kilometers from our starting point yesterday morning, we arrive at the outskirts of Santiago which is without power but appears to be reasonably intact relative to the damage incurred to the south. Our trip ends 100kms north of Santiago where we are able to find lodgings with electricity food and water.

The second truck makes it to Concepcion around midnight. Road conditions around the epicenter are not surprisingly almost impassable. Fortunately we had been driving in 4x4 pickups with low range capabilities which allowed them to climb up over the destroyed bridges and heaps of rubble.

Upon reaching Concepcion they find the city is in bad shape. They spend the night in the garden of a house with the children but as aftershocks of up to magnitude 6.7 make sleeping impossible. Security issues begin to become a concern as minority of inhabitants migrate from scavenging for the food and necessities they need to survive to more unfortunately looting of private residences.

Older buildings were particularly impacted by the earthquake

At first light on Sunday 28 February, Martin and Maria depart from Concepcion with the two and five year old and begins to attempt to make their way north towards Santiago arriving safely back in the capital some 10 hours later.

On Thursday March 4th, Martin, Cote and others join a military convoy heading back south with a lorry packed with flour, water, avocados and other foodstuff for the victims in the areas around Concepcion. Reaching the coast, they found that the tsunami had created widespread damage to the towns and that almost all of the older houses made of mud had been destroyed. Most of the people had moved into the hills camping on high ground for fear of more tremors. The Chilean half of our expedition team turned first responders distributed food and aid in towns that had not yet been reached by the government.

We wish to thank all of our friends and family who generously made financial donations to support this effort, your assistance had a direct and meaningful impact on the lives of a great many people who were in real need.

Discussions, Conclusions & Open Questions

The second expedition to identify and document Alerce trees in the Cochamo valley of Chile was partially successful in meeting its objectives. We were able to locate and begin to catalog the two areas we had identified for study. Within these areas we identified and catalogued over 50 Alerce including 7 with a diameter of 2.6 meters of more. Additionally we identified two additional target areas of interest. However, the giant Alerce tree rumored to exist deep in the forest continues to elude us. A third expedition is being planned for next season to continue our search.

Questions:

• The surface of the Alerce is not smooth, large cervices exist and loose bark which makes measurements difficult. What should be included or excluded in a circumference measurement?

• How do the ages and size of tree line Alerce located above 2,000 meters compare to swamp or forest Alerce given they are protected from man but more exposed to natural elements?

• What common geographic and or biospheric conditions are found near the largest Alerce?

Acknowledgments:

We would like to thank The Explorers Club for giving us the opportunity to carry Flag 24 into the field

Geographic images courtesy of Google Earth

Photographs courtesy of Nicole Watson and Cote Zegers

Bibliography:

/Argentina-Los-Alerces.asp. (n.d.). Retrieved from argentina.gotolatin.com: http://argentina.gotolatin.com/eng/Attr/htm/Argentina-Los-Alerces.asp

AFI. (n.d.). http://www.ancientforests.org/forest_types.html. Retrieved October 10, 2009, from http://www.ancientforests.org: http://www.ancientforests.org/

Alaback, P. (n.d.). Forest ecologist with the US Forest Service

americanforests.org/resources. (n.d.). Retrieved 2009, from www.americanforests.org: http://www.americanforests.org/resources/bigtrees/measure.php

Earle, C. J. (2009, march 23). Fitzroya cupressoides. Retrieved September 24, 2009, from The gymnosperm Database: http://www.conifers.org/cu/fi/
Holmes, J. A. (1985). Fitzroya Cupresoides yields 1534-year long South American Chronology. Tree ring Bulletin , Vol 45.
Klein, R. (2010, February 16). Estimating age of Alerce. (J. Paterniti, Interviewer)
Parque Pumalin History. (n.d.). Retrieved from Parque Pumalin: http://www.parquepumalin.cl/content/index.htm

Rector, J. L. (2005). The History of Chile. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.wikipedia.org

Wilcox, K. (1996). Chile's Native Forests A conservation Legacy. USA: NW Wild Books in association with North Atlantic Books.

http://www.welcomechile.com/. (n.d.). Retrieved from puertomont: http://www.welcomechile.com/puertomontt/alerce-andino-national-park.html

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