Chile's distinguished immigrant takes root.

• Author: Munozl Villegas, Hernan.
• Position: Radiata pine - Includes article Boughs for Chile

FOR HALF A CENTURY Chilean forests have generated some of the most remarkable economic growth in the Hemisphere, and still hold nothing but promising prospects for the future. The mainstay of the booming timber industry is the Monterey pine, known to the world as Pinus radiata but officially titled in Chile the pino insigne or "distinguished pine." An entire volume could be written on the history of this tree, introduced into Chile by a happy error. It is equally deserving of an epic poem or a special thanksgiving service. The success story is all due to the tree's putting down roots in this peculiarly hospitable place, where, during its early years of Chilean citizenship, it grew and spread even more robustly than in its native land.

The Monterey or radiata pine came to the country by sheer luck. Arthur Junge, an amateur botanist and zoologist and a member of a respected German family residing in Concepcion, ordered douglas fir seeds from France in 1886. By mistake, the Valmorin exporting house sent radiata pine seeds instead of the ones he requested. A total of 150 hectares were planted in this species between 1885 and 1925, representing less than 4 hectares of new planting per year. Between 1925 and 1973, the rate of new planting rose to 4,375 hectares per year. The figure grew to 67,677 hectares planted annually between 1973 and 1985, and the expansion in the tree's cultivation continues with no end in sight.

The pine's successful introduction was due in part to Chile's geographical location. Woodlands in Chile are found between the same latitudes as the major forests of New Zealand, Australia and the southernmost part of Africa. A similar analogy can be drawn in the Northern Hemisphere, the Monterey pine's original habitat. The territories located between the U.S.-Mexican border and Reno-Denver in the United States, at 30 degrees to 40 degrees North, correspond precisely to the tree's region of optimum development in the Southern Hemisphere. Other species native to the United States and Canada--the douglas fir, ponderosa or western yellow pine, lodgepole and Scotch pine--have spread following their introduction into Chile, but none with the vigor of the radiata pine.

Although climate, soil and rainfall were favorable, promoting the acceptance of the pine was no easy task. The transplant was not well received by the local inhabitants, who did not want to recognize the new pine as a true citizen although they themselves had also immigrated from other parts. It was, after all, an introduced or exotic botanical species, which led some to fear that it would displace native trees. As with people, immigrant species of flora are commonly discriminated against, but over the course of time often prove to be the best citizens.

Today, no one would dare to challenge the importance of the forestry sector in Chilean economic development or to belittle the dominant role played by the radiata pine. The pine's adaptability over a wide territorial range, rapid propagation and low production cost, have enabled it to capture a considerable share of the domestic market and permitted an expansion of the forest products industry unimaginable before its introduction.

During the 1950s, 93 percent of forestry activity was concentrated in sawn lumber production, with native species accounting for 70 percent of the 500,000 cubic meters produced each year. Eighty percent...