Vegetation and pollen analysis of two bogs on chiloé

Abstract

Two bogs in the north of the island of Chiloé are described. At Chepu. on the north-west coast, Leptocarpus chilensis is dominant on a shallow lowland bog. Pollen analysis of samples from this site records mainly the history of the local bog vegetation. This bog supports at least 25 species of plants in contrast to the few species associated with L. similis in New Zealand, which usually grows within the influence of salt or brackish water.On the Cordillera de San Pedro. northern Chiloé a cushion bog at about 650 m is similar in floristic composition to that of the surrounding tussock-sedgeland. with the addition of a few species found in wet situations. Pollen analysis shows that forest was dominant throughout the period represented by the pollen diagram. There is no indication of the tussock-sedgeland or shrubland that dominates the area today.Comparison with a cushion bog in New Zealand shows that several cushion and mat plants belong to shared genera. but the Chilean bog supports genera not found in New Zealand. However. the New Zealand bog sup-ports members of the Epacridaceae, a family only represented in southern Chile by a forest dwelling species. © 1973 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.