Abstract

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 16th and 17th centuries: (i) during the 16th 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 16th and 17th centuries, favored the introduction and spreading of the new species, (iii) during the 16th 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.