Revista Chilena de Historia Natural 82 (3): 403-412, 2009
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Flower and fruit production and insect pollination of the endangered Chilean tree,
Gomortega keule in native forest, exotic pine plantation and agricultural environments
This study was undertaken to discover whether patterns of flower and fruit production for
Gomortega keule, an endangered Chilean tree, differ between exotic pine plantation, agricultural and native forest
environments. A pilot study was also undertaken to identify the primary pollinators of G. keule. Although similar proportions
of G. keule trees flowered in the agricultural and native forest areas, more trees in the agricultural sites produced fruit
compared to trees in the native forest sites. Flowering and fruiting of G. keule was extremely rare in the exotic pine
plantations. Our data show that G. keule flowers are predominantly visited by syrphid flies in March-April, and that syrphids
carry a greater proportion of G. keule pollen than the other insects collected. Native forest and low intensity agricultural
systems appear to provide habitat in which syrphids forage and G. keule is able to produce fruit successfully, but exotic
pine plantation does not; suggesting that a landscape made up of a mosaic of different landuse types is not necessarily inimical to the
continued reproduction of G. keule, but that the combination and types of landuses and intensity of management must be
carefully considered.
Key words:
Chile,
Gomortega, landuse, pollination, Syrphid
