protected area
Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...
in
Peru
Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
created to preserve the biodiversity of the Sira Mountains and the ancestral sustainable use of the area's resources by the nearby native peoples. It also protects the headwaters of the Pachitea river basin. The reserve covers an area of within the regions of
Huánuco
Huánuco (; ) is a city in central Peru. It had a population of 196,627 as of 2017 and in 2015 it had a population of 175,068. It is the capital of the Huánuco Region and the Huánuco District. It is the seat of the diocese of Huánuco. The met ...
, Pasco and Ucayali. The reserve was created in 2001 and in 2010,
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
Ucayali Region
Ucayali () is an inland department and region of Peru. Located in the Amazon rainforest, its name is derived from the Ucayali River. Its capital is the city of Pucallpa. It is the second largest department in Peru, after Loreto, and it is s ...
( Atalaya Province and Coronel Portillo Province). El Sira Communal Reserve is located in the east-central area of Peru, part of the Eastern Cordillera of the Andes, within the sub-Andean belt; between latitudes 09º 03' and 10º 22' and longitudes 74º 05' and 74º 48'. The SCR presents an altitudinal gradient from 130 to 2250 meters above sea level and is influenced by the basins of the Ucayali, Pachitea and Pichis rivers.''Plan Maestro de la Reserva Comunal El Sira''. 27 February 2009.
Climate
The average annual temperature is 25.5 °C. Average monthly temperatures fluctuate between 24.6 °C and 25.8 °C. The lowest temperatures occur in the third quarter of the year and the highest in the last quarter. Extreme temperatures fluctuate between 15 °C (the lowest) and 33 °C (the highest), with 15 °C being the average oscillation between extreme maximum and minimum temperatures.
The lower parts at less than 1000 masl are warm and rainy. The highlands that exceed 1000 masl present a climate that varies from semi-dry to very humid. The last and first trimester of each year have the highest rainfall. The dry season corresponds to the second and third trimesters, reaching 107 mm of precipitation in August. On the western flank of the mountain range there are phenomena that favor greater condensation of cloud bodies, unlike the east side (Ucayali basin). The values recorded for Puerto Bermúdez indicate an annual total of 3312.9 mm, unlike the values recorded for
Pucallpa
Pucallpa (, ; Shipibo language, Shipibo: ''May Ushin'') is a city in eastern Peru located on the banks of the Ucayali River, a major tributary of the Amazon River. It is the capital of the Ucayali region, the Coronel Portillo Province and the C ...
and Atalaya, which do not exceed records of 2500 mm per year. In the south of the reserve the landscape known as Gran Pajonal is less hot and humid, with average temperature values of 18.5 °C.
Hydrography and hydrology
The Reserve is located mainly in the upper or middle sectors of the tributaries of the Ucayali river basins (on the left bank), Pachitea and Pichis (on the right bank). The southern part of the reserve is located between the upper sectors of the tributaries of the Pichis, Ucayali and Unini rivers. The eastern sector of the buffer zone is made up of the Ucayali River; while the western sector is in the basin of the Pachitea and Pichis rivers.
The Ucayali River, originating in the Peruvian Andes, borders the eastern part of the El Sira mountain range, with a south - north route. It is characterized by being meandering with few lentic environments in the area adjacent to the aforementioned Cordillera. Its water course has a great lateral migratory activity, which causes the formation of lentic environments - locally known as "tipishcas". These environments are the product of a meander that has been abandoned by the course of the river. The flow of the Ucayali river at the height of Pucallpa is 11,599 m3/s, and at the height of Atalaya 6613 m3/s.
The Pachitea River is a tributary of the Ucayali River, flowing into the left bank downstream of the village of Santa Rosa. Its waters come from the Peruvian Andes. It is formed from the union of the Pichis and Palcazu rivers. In its south - north route it borders the western part of the northern sector of the El Sira mountain range. It is also a meandering river with scarce lentic environments in the area adjacent to the aforementioned Cordillera. According to ONERN in 1980, the flow of the Pachitea River at its confluence with the Ucayali River is 2412 m3/s.
The Pichis River, born in the Peruvian Andes, borders the western part of the center - south sector of the Cordillera El Sira with a south-north route. It is a winding river with scarce lentic environments in the area adjacent to the aforementioned Cordillera. When uniting with the Palcazu it gives origin to the Pachitea river. The navigability of these rivers is an important factor that makes them the primary communication channel for the area. One of the main means of fluvial communication for the reserve is the Ucayali River. This river is navigable from the main port of
Pucallpa
Pucallpa (, ; Shipibo language, Shipibo: ''May Ushin'') is a city in eastern Peru located on the banks of the Ucayali River, a major tributary of the Amazon River. It is the capital of the Ucayali region, the Coronel Portillo Province and the C ...
to the confluence of the Tambo and Urubamba rivers, where the provincial capital of Atalaya is located. The Pichis and Pachitea rivers allow the navigation of boats with outboard motors from their confluence to Puerto Bermúdez. In general, navigability improves in rainy seasons.
Flora
The type of vegetation in the reserve is tropical forest and highland rainforest. More than 500 species of trees can be found in the reserve including: ''
Sapium glandulosum
''Sapium glandulosum'' is a species of tree in the family Euphorbiaceae. It is native to the Neotropics from Mexico and the Caribbean south to Argentina, and it has been cultivated elsewhere.Bunchosia armeniaca,'' '' Iriartea deltoidea, Weinmannia'' spp., ''
Manilkara bidentata
''Manilkara bidentata'' is a species of '' Manilkara'' native to a large area of northern South America, Central America and the Caribbean. Common names include bulletwood, balatá, ausubo, massaranduba, quinilla, and (ambiguously) " cow-tree".
...
Ilex
''Ilex'' () or holly is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen or ...
'' spp., ''
Theobroma cacao
''Theobroma cacao'' (cacao tree or cocoa tree) is a small ( tall) evergreen tree in the Malvaceae family. Its seedscocoa beansare used to make chocolate liquor, cocoa solids, cocoa butter and chocolate. Although the tree is native to the tropi ...
Ceiba pentandra
''Ceiba pentandra'' is a tropical tree of the order (biology), order Malvales and the family (biology), family Malvaceae (previously emplaced in the family Bombacaceae), native to Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, northern South America, ...
,
Pouteria caimito
''Pouteria caimito'', the abiu (), is a tropical fruit tree in the family ''Sapotaceae''. It grows in the Amazon Basin, Amazonian region of South America, and this type of fruit can also be found in the Philippines and other countries in Southea ...
nine-banded armadillo
The nine-banded armadillo (''Dasypus novemcinctus''), also called the nine-banded long-nosed armadillo or common long-nosed armadillo, is a species of armadillo native to North America, North, Central America, Central, and South America, making ...
paca
A paca ia a rodent in South and Central America.
Paca or PACA may also refer to:
People
* William Paca (1740–1799), a Founding Father of the United States
* Paca Blanco (Francisca Blanco Díaz, born 1949), Spanish activist
* Paca Navas (Franc ...
jaguar
The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large felidae, cat species and the only extant taxon, living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat spe ...
, the
South American tapir
The South American tapir (''Tapirus terrestris''), also commonly called the Brazilian tapir (from the Tupi ), the Amazonian tapir, the maned tapir, the lowland tapir, (Brazilian Portuguese), and ''la sachavaca'' (literally "bushcow", in mixed ...
, the
collared peccary
The collared peccary (''Dicotyles tajacu'') is a peccary, a species of artiodactyl (even-toed) mammal in the family Peccary, Tayassuidae found in North America, North, Central America, Central, and South America. It is the only member of the gen ...
giant otter
The giant otter or giant river otter (''Pteronura brasiliensis'') is a South American carnivorous mammal. It is the longest member of the weasel family, Mustelidae, a globally successful group of predators, reaching up to . Atypical of mustel ...
, the
capybara
The capybara or greater capybara (''Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris'') is the largest living rodent, native to South America. It is a member of the genus '' Hydrochoerus''. The only other extant member is the lesser capybara (''Hydrochoerus isthmi ...
Hylidae
Hylidae is a wide-ranging family of frogs commonly referred to as " tree frogs and their allies". However, the hylids include a diversity of frog species, many of which do not live in trees, but are terrestrial or semiaquatic.
Taxonomy and ...
and
Leptodactylidae
The southern frogs form the Leptodactylidae, a name that comes from Greek meaning a bird or other animal having slender toes. They are a diverse family of frogs that most likely diverged from other hyloids during the Cretaceous. The family has u ...
, are known from the reserve. Finally, 111 species of bony fish have been reported, the most diverse being
Characiformes
Characiformes is an order of ray-finned fish, comprising the characins and their allies. Grouped in 18 recognized families, more than 2000 different species are described, including the well-known piranha and tetras.; Buckup P.A.: "Relationsh ...