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Forestry: Forests See map

The forest mass of Tierra del Fuego belongs to the so-called Sub-Antarctic Forest or Andean-Patagonian Forests, formation that spans on the southern part of the Andes mountain range forming a narrow and irregular strip that starts in the northwest of the province of Neuquén, reaching the coast of the Beagle Channel, on which it lies to extinction in the extreme southeast and in the Estados Island. The Fuegian forests are the last portion of that formation, that are located south of parallel 54º south latitude.

Description. The Grande Island of Tierra del Fuego has two distinct areas: to the north of the island the sector of the Fuegino district of the Patagonian Province, to the south of Grande river the Deciduous Forest district of the province subantarctic.

In the area of ​​the Patagonian province are distinguished: the steppe, where the dominant species -the Fuegian coirón- alternates with black populations of bush or shrub myrtle, and the meadows, which occupies the valley bottoms and dominates the Patagonian barley.

The boundary between the steppe and the deciduous forest is given by the first forest patches of Nothofagus, occurring in the transition zone of a landscape of scattered tree islands in the Fuegian tussock steppe. The forest consists of deciduous species of Nothofagus: ñire, Nothofagus antarctica, and integrates the first wooded islands in the ecotone with the steppe. To the south, in the area stretching from north of Lake Fagnano to the shores of the channel Beagle in the South, and the Argentine Sea to the east and southeast, dominate beech -Nothofagus pumilio- and cherry -Nothofagus betuloides-, leaving ñire relegated to the most adverse sites. Under the forest are small ferns, hapaticas and fungi.

In large areas the forest opens resulting in peat bogs. These correspond to ancient flora depressions occupied today by hydrophilic, that under special temperature and humidity, suffer from incomplete decomposition of plant organic matter. Species that typically originate peat, contributing to their formation, are sedge genus Carex, Sphagnum genus mosses and sedges.

The beech of these forests is the dominant species, and the surface of productive beech (production forest, 270,160 ha), approximately 80,000 hectares, is studied and performed by harvest, which are specified by short thinning. This ensures the normal supply of existing consumer industries, primary production, which supports only selected raw materials for the production of beams, beech overhead can include: pole power transmission networks, wire, rods, struts, carpentry, wood and so on. Currently there are installed twelve operating mills, classified according to the available processing power, and there are also two medium sawmills in the installation process.

As highlighted in this short introduction and considering that this resource is 30% of the GDP of the province, and evolves at a rate of one point per year its production, important factors needed to help increase farm yields logging.