RBI 02: Cordillera Azul - Espanol - The Field Museum

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MOUNTAIN SLOPES AND CRESTS Forests on the mountain slopes above the Río Pauya— ca. 600 to 900 m elevation—are evergreen, grow on rich, non-acidic, slippery clay soils, and share many species with lowland forests on rich soil. Slopes on some of the mid-elevation ridges have a more acidic soil and flora similar to that of wet, semi-acidic hills of the lowlands. On the upper Río Pisqui, slope forests at elevations of 500 to 600 m have a distinct stratum of exposed limestone and derived soils. The result is a striking band of floodplain and low alluvial fan species (of canopy and understory plants) perched on the mountainside. Even the typical floodplain “cedro”, Cedrela odorata, grows here rather than the hill species, Cedrela fissilis. Another distinct type of slope forest in the upper Pisqui is that on horizontal ridges, between approximately 750 and 900 m elevation. Several of the conspicuous understory plants of the ancient Tertiary sandy terraces of the lowlands are abundant here, mixed with dense stands of palm species and trees of the family Rubiaceae. Above approximately 900 m on the upper Pauya ridge slopes, and 1100 m on the upper Pisqui slopes, the forests become shorter—to approximately 10 m in height—and have a spongy, unstable, superficial root mat over soft, acidic sandstone. Although less species-rich than forests at lower elevations, these short forests have a greater abundance and number of species of epiphytes. Dominant trees represent the families Sapotaceae, Theaceae, and Melastomataceae. Forest stands in the ravines between ridges are moister and taller than forests on the ridge slopes, and have a completely different flora. Our trails were mostly limited to ridge slopes, however, so we spent an unsatisfyingly small amount of time investigating these interesting, high ravines. We examined several mountain crests between 1400 and 1700 m elevation. These are challenging places to live, subjected at times to severe winds, lightning, dense cloud cover, seasonally severe drought, and fires. The underlying rock is hard, very acidic, and miserly: plants here must grow slowly because few nutrients are available. Trees are generally spaced widely, separated by 2–3 m-tall shrubland (Figure 7C). Wet depressions and small ravines are scattered throughout, with slightly taller (4–9 m) elfin forest (Figure 7D). We encountered several new or rare plant species on the crests, including a new Parkia (Fabaceae) and a new Stenopadus (Mutisiae tribe, Asteraceae), a genus new for Peru and mainly found in the Guiana Highlands. We also found, for the second time in history, the tiny fern Schizaea poeppigiana. Many Bromeliaceae grow here, including several large species that occur both as epiphytes and on the ground. Dense mats of lichens cover small, treeless barrens. High cliffs at upper elevations also appeared to have species specifically associated with them. PALMS Palms are abundant in the northern Cordillera Azul, both in number of individuals and species. We encountered a remarkable 45 species within the proposed Parque Nacional Cordillera Azul Biabo, equivalent to 43% of all palm species known from Peru and including at least two that are species new to science, or new records for Peru. One of these new species is a multistemmed Euterpe that may prove economically valuable, allowing the harvest of hearts-of-palm without killing the individual being harvested, as is now the case with the commercial, single-stemmed species in Peru. Palms are especially dominant in the understory of the alluvial fans and low foothills of the mountains (Figure 4D); in the understory of horizontal, acidic ridges perched on midelevation mountain slopes; and in lowland palm swamps (aguajales) with nearly monospecific stands of Mauritia and Mauritiella. perú: cordillera azul FEBRERO/FEBRUARY 2001 107
108 TREE SPECIES OF ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE Economically valuable timber trees have been largely eliminated from areas of the northern Cordillera Azul that are accessible by the major rivers. For years, itinerant lumbermen have cut mahogany (caoba, Swietenia macrophylla), tropical cedar (cedro blanco, Cedrela odorata), and Cedrela fissilis (cedro colorado). Now, they are removing Cedrelinga catenaeformis (tornillo). Other, less valuable timber species have not yet been cut, such as Amburana (ishpingo, Fabaceae) and Cordia alliodora (Boraginaceae). Medicinal and ornamental plants, as well as commercial palms, have been harvested only lightly, in limited areas. INFERRED HISTORY OF HUMAN IMPACT The abundance of large game mammals and birds and the harvest of only the most valuable timber—and only in areas close to the main rivers—indicate that humans have been present only rarely in the northern Cordillera Azul in recent decades, or likely centuries (although ruins 400 to 500 years old have been found in the Pauya, RAP 1999). A very low level of visitation by humans is not surprising, given the extreme inaccessibility of the interior portions of the Cordillera. We saw no indication of permanent settlements anywhere within the proposed park except for small intrusions to the west and north. FISHES The upper Río Pisqui and upper Río Pauya pierce the rock wall along the east face of the Cordillera Azul and then meander eastward to the Río Ucayali. These rivers support human communities (e.g., Nuevo Edén, Manco Capac, Pampa Hermosa) and a myriad of wildlife in the forestry concessions along their way (Figures 4, 5). The headwaters of these rivers are critical not only for the fish communities, but also for the health of the entire watershed. The headwaters harbor unique species and provide spawning grounds for many of the migratory fishes, which include the large species hunted by humans for food. Species richness is high in both the upper Pisqui and upper Pauya watersheds, reflecting the high diversity of microhabitats. Most of the species in the headwaters are small (
Page 1 and 2: Rapid Biological Inventories Instit
Page 3 and 4: apid biological 02 inventories Per
Page 5: ENGLISH CONTENTS (For color plates,
Page 8 and 9: 6˚30’S 7˚00’S 7˚30’S 8˚00
Page 10 and 11: Fig. 5A - Angulosas cumbres dentro
Page 13 and 14: 26 Figs. 7A-F Hábitats de las lade
Page 15 and 16: 28 Fig. 9A - Este bagre armado es p
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Page 19 and 20: our sincere gratitude to the member
Page 21 and 22: 94 PARTICIPANTS FIELD TEAM Christia
Page 23 and 24: 96 INSTITUTIONAL PROFILES The Field
Page 25 and 26: 98 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The remote ridg
Page 27 and 28: 100 REPORT AT A GLANCE Dates of fie
Page 29 and 30: 102 REPORT AT A GLANCE Current Stat
Page 31 and 32: 104 Change, however, approaches swi
Page 33: 106 to this diversity. The surface
Page 37 and 38: 110 Cotinga (Cotinga cotinga) for P
Page 39 and 40: 112 Birds Hill-forest birds (e.g.,
Page 41 and 42: 114 OPPORTUNITIES FOR CONSERVATION
Page 43 and 44: 116 RECOMMENDATIONS This rapid surv
Page 45 and 46: 118 RECOMMENDATIONS Monitoring 3) W
Page 47 and 48: 120 downstream, it carves a broad U
Page 49 and 50: 122 Campamento Playa on the river u
Page 51 and 52: 124 with pockets of acid soil, usua
Page 53 and 54: 126 VEGETATION AND FLORA OF THE PAU
Page 55 and 56: 128 dominated by a rare genus of sm
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Page 59 and 60: 132 On these upper slopes, plants c
Page 61 and 62: 134 (mostly in the lowlands). The r
Page 63 and 64: 136 • Sciaphila purpurea, a rarel
Page 65 and 66: 138 The fish community appears inta
Page 67 and 68: 140 As in the downstream study site
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Page 75 and 76: 148 The avifauna of the floodplain
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158 Pisqui Campamentos Playa y Queb
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160 APÉNDICE/APPENDIX 1 PLANTAS /
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196 APÉNDICE/APPENDIX 3A PECES/FIS
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198 APÉNDICE/APPENDIX 3B Peces del
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200 APÉNDICE/APPENDIX 3C Peces del
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202 APÉNDICE/APPENDIX 4 ANFIBIOS Y
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204 APÉNDICE/APPENDIX 4 Species of
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206 APÉNDICE/APPENDIX 5 AVES/BIRDS
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226 APÉNDICE/APPENDIX 6 MAMÍFEROS
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228 LITERATURA CITADA /LITERATURE C
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