A ñirre tree (right) clings to a rock on the falls of the Swan River in Los Alerces National Park. Ñirre trees (antarctic beech, nothofagus antarctica) are fast-growing and prefer humid places. Tiers of branches, arranged in a herringbone formation, are covered in small, glossy heart-shaped leaves that turn from dark green to yellow and red in autumn. The bare trunk and branches are especially striking in winter when horizontal silvery grey stripes stand out against the chocolate-colored bark. In the north, they grow at high altitudes as small trees or bushes. In the far south, they can reach 115 feet in height with a trunk diameter of 16 inches.
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The native forests of southern Argentina and Chile are endangered by forest fires, indiscriminate tree felling, overgrazing, constant human
encroachment, and the replacement of native trees with inappropriate species from the northern hemisphere.  Those factors impede natural forest regeneration, and large areas are now suffering from erosion and urgently need reforestation.
To exacerbate matters, the Provincial Forest Department, under unrelenting pressure from the timber industry, has issued regulations specifying that felled native species be replaced with foreign species. Recent research has shown that many of these exotic, "fast-growing" species are, in fact, inferior to other native fast-growers, such as the native radal (lomatia hirsuta), used in fine furniture manufacture and handicrafts, and the maiten (Maytenus boaria). Unfortunately, however, most native species are endangered and risk extinction unless the current trend is reversed.
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