Floristic study of the Francisco Coloane Coastal Marine Protected Area, Región de Magallanes, Chile

Abstract

A detailed knowledge of protected areas biodiversity is a key factor to generate preservation and management policies. A
survey on the vascular flora of Francisco Coloane Coastal Marine Protected Area is examined in this paper. The flora is
represented by 55 families, 92 genera and 120 species. 69 of them are endemic for Chile and Argentina. The most diverse
families are Asteraceae (11 genera/15 species), Poaceae (10 /13) and Cyperaceae (6 /12). The genera with highest number
of species are Carex and Senecio with 5 and 4 species, respectively; while 72 genera are represented by only one species.
The dominant life form is herbaceous plants (74 species, 62%), followed by the sub schrubs (19 species, 16%). Two
species constitute new records for Magallanes Region (Lupinus arboreus and Gamochaeta monticola). The 95% of the
flora corresponds to native species and only 5% are exotic plants. Only 9 of 120 species have the status of endangered
species.