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Ecological Resources of the Peruvian National Park RIO ABISEO

Excerpt of the book (written in spanish):

ABISEO : Patrimonio Mundial en Emergencia /
by Adrián Mendoza Ocampo
Second Edition: 1996; 116 p.
Moyobamba - Perú

Distribution and sale: Prof. Adrián Mendoza Ocampo

The ecological importance of the National Park RIO ABISEO is based on its ecosystems: the Paramo de Loricaria, the High Andean grasslands (Puna), the great number of waters (lakes, lagunas, rivers, gorges), isolated spots of small woods, tropical cloud forests as well as typical highland forests.

About 22% of the area of the National Park is supposed to belong to Puna grasslands, 53% to mountain forests (half of this area presumably is cloud forest) and the rest of 25% to pre-montane forests.

The park is part of a particular geographic region which - according to some scientists - might be part of a refugium of the Pleistocene of the Huallaga River.

Fauna

[Wooley Monkey] Actually the scientific explorations of the inner part of the National Park are restricted to the region of the Montecristo River in an altitude range between 2,000 and 4,200 m above sealevel.

In this area of investigation could be determined 227 species of birds, 47 species of mammals, 27 species of anurans (tree frogs) and 4 species of reptils. This list also includes 17 species of vertebrates not yet specified scientifically: 10 frogs, 1 lizard, 6 rodents and one subspecies of bat.

Although the area of the National Park represents less than 0.2% of the Peruvian territory it houses many endemic species and other species whose distribution is restricted exclusively to this geographical region of Peru.

Species in Danger of Extiction:

    Spanish Name                English Name            Scientific Name

  - Taruca			Taruga, Andean deer	Hippocamelus antisensis
  - Oso de Anteojos		Spectacled bear		Tremarctos ornatus 
  - Mono Choro de Cola		Yellow tailed wooley	Lagothsix flavicauda
  	Amarilla		 monkey (Monkey of the 
                                 clouds)
  - Jaguar u Otorongo		Jaguar			Panthera onca
  - Maquisapa de Montaña	Black spider monkey	Ateles belzabuth
  - Pato de Cabeza Castaña	Species of ducks	Netta erythrophthalma
  - Cóndor Andina		Andean condor		Vultur gryphus
  - Loro de Mejillas Doradas	Yellow cheek parrot	Laptositlaca branickil
  - Rata Muca 			newly discovered        Thornasomys apeco
				 species of Rat Opossum
  - Tucaneta del Huallaga	Toucanet (Small         Aulacoshynchus huallague
  				 Huallaga toucan)
  - Carachupa Peluda		Hairy armadillo		Dasipus pelosus
  - Sachavaca			Brazilian tapir		Tapirus terrestris
  - Oso Hormiguero Gigante	Giant anteater		Myrmecophaga tridactyla

Flora

Botanical studies in the upper parts of the National Park (from 2,300 upto 4,200 m above sealevel) have determined 980 species; 13 species of them were scientifically registered for the first time.

A total of 5,000 species of plants is supposed to be growing in the region of the Abiseo River. In the Andean highland part of the park there are wide grasslands and isolated spots of wooden forests. Below the altitude of 3,200 m approximately there are contiguous forests where wooden species with tree heights of 20 to 30 m are predominating.

The cloud forest which is covering the major part of the National Park contains the largest biodiversity of plants after the tropical rain forest. Especially in the Abiseo region there are included zones of endemism as well as zones of a refugium of the Huallaga Pleistocene.

  • Archaeological Resources of the Peruvian National Park RÍO ABISEO (Excerpt of the same book)
  • Map of the Park
  • Presentation of the book

    • [Homepage of Moyobamba]

    Send email to schlebbe@informatik.uni-stuttgart.de (Heribert Schlebbe)