Alteraciones del paisaje ecológico araucano por la asimilación mapuche de la agroganadería hispano-mediterránea (siglos XVI y XVII)

The bio-geographic characteristics of the temperate America favored the introduction and spreading of exotic plant and animal species that supported the Hispanic-Mediterranean farming model. The effects of this situation produced ecological alterations on the territories inhabited by Indians without intense productive systems; as the Araucanía case. Through a historical and documental analysis this paper reports the main characteristics of the Araucanian ecological landscape disruption process during the 16^th and 17^th centuries: (i) during the 16^th century, the introduction of exotic species dislocated the Mapuche economic system, (ii) both the relative Araucanía pristine conditions and the warlike process, occurred between the 16^th and 17^th centuries, favored the introduction and spreading of the new species, (iii) during the 16^th century, both natives and exotic species coexisted, but during the next century the exotic species predominated, and (iv) this preponderance would have produced a local extinction of native plants and animals, disrupting definitively the Araucanian ecological landscape.