The vegetation of Chile and the EcoVeg approach in the context of the International Vegetation Classification project

Abstract

Aims: Chilean vegetation has previously received considerable attention, and several classifications are currently available. The most recent of these was presented for the first time in 2006 and updated in 2017 by the authors. Although widely utilized by researchers both in Chile and Latin America, this information is only available in Spanish, which hampers its usefulness for a broader scientific audience. Here, we provide an overview of the methods and the resulting classification and propose a correspondence between Chilean classification and the International Vegetation Classification (IVC) following the EcoVeg scheme. Study area: Continental Chile. Methods: Based on the criteria of the EcoVeg approach, we established a linkage of zonal and azonal vegetation units to the macrogroup level and to the formation classes of the IVC. We also generated a map to facilitate crosswalk between the classifications. Results: We recognize 23 macrogroups, 13 divisions and 11 formations of zonal vegetation, including three newly proposed macrogroups, one division and one formation. We further recognize 23 macrogroups, 23 divisions and 17 formations of intrazonal vegetation. Together, they encompass all six formation classes of natural vegetation of the IVC. We highlight those units so far not mentioned for Chile in the IVC. Finally, we provide a map of macrogroups and discuss the limitations and prospects of this approach for the classification of Chilean vegetation. Conclusions: Chilean zonal vegetation was successfully accommodated in the IVC down to the macrogroup level. The process of linking Chilean zonal vegetation and macrogroups led us to a few suggestions that may be used to improve the IVC. Taxonomic reference: Zuloaga et al. (2008). Abbreviations: IVC = International Vegetation Classification