Unlike eucalyptus, an exotic species that burns quickly, some native trees are able to withstand or contain flames for longer, according to research by the Federico Santa Maria Technical University (USM).
Scientific experiments have demonstrated that quillay and litre, for example, are less flammable than eucalyptus and pine, USM researcher Fabian Guerrero said.
When the inferno erupted last February, there was little firefighters could do to stop it consuming most of the park in less than an hour.
But nature is slowly healing: abundant rainfall in 2024 in central Chile — after more than a decade of drought — has already brought green shoots of recovery in the botanical garden.
The beauty of Sclerophyll forests resistant to summer droughts is that “trees that burn come back,” Peirano said.
© 2025 AFP
