![Arid Pampas red](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/Arid_Pampas_red.png)
The Semi-arid Pampas, also known as the Dry Pampas, is a
temperate grassland
Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands is a terrestrial biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. The predominant vegetation in this biome consists of grass and/or shrubs. The climate is temperate and ranges from semi-arid to semi ...
ecoregion
An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...
of central
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
.
Setting
The Semi-arid Pampas cover an area of , including western
Buenos Aires Province, southern
Cordoba and
San Luis Provinces and most of
La Pampa Province. The area is, in all, home to no more than a million people, who generally enjoy some of the nation's lowest poverty rates.
The
Humid Pampas grassland lies to the east, while the drier
Argentine Espinál (thorny) grassland lies to the west. The soil tends to be sandier in this region than to the east, though both regions are characterized by their mostly minimal incline and frequent
finger lake
A finger lake, also known as a fjord lake or trough lake, is "a narrow linear body of water occupying a Overdeepening, glacially overdeepened valley and sometimes impounded by a Terminal moraine, morainic dam."Kotlyakov and Komarova (2007), 255. ...
s. Generally more similar than not, these two biomes are mostly distinguished by their contrasting rainfall quantities, soil quality and land use; this section of the pampas typically sees about a third less rainfall (700 mm, 27 in) than the humid pampas.
Flora
Not unlike the more humid pampas to the east, this area is characterized by its extensive grasslands. This groundcover, however, tends to be closer to long-grass varieties found in the world's
steppes. Its landscape punctuated by relatively few trees (mostly imported
ombúes,
alder
Alders are trees comprising the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus comprises about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few sp ...
s and
Italian cypresses planted to provide wind breaks or landscaping), the region is home to intermittent shrublands, therein particularly ''carquejilla'' and ''
caldén'' (prized for their medicinal qualities), as well as the shady
''algarrobo'', common to much of Argentina.
Fauna
In part owing to its sparse landscape and unreliable rains, the area's fauna rather resembles much of neighboring
Patagonia
Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and g ...
's. Perhaps the most common natural inhabitant to the region is the ''ñandú'', or,
Darwin's rhea
Darwin's rhea or the lesser rhea (''Rhea pennata'') is a large flightless bird, the smaller of the two extant species of rheas. It is found in the Altiplano and Patagonia in South America.
Description
The lesser rhea stands at tall. Lengt ...
. Nearly ubiquitous to the region in the early 19th century, vast herds were often observed at the time and, indeed, they and their eggs had for centuries provided the
Puelches and the area's other indigenous peoples with much of their protein needs. Targeted during successive
genocidal campaigns between 1830 and 1880, however, these inhabitants lost most ''ñandús'' to massacres by Argentine armies, who believed that in so doing, the indigenous tribes could be starved into surrender.
Nearing extinction by the 1920s, the ñandú herds have recovered substantially and have since then, like the likewise then-nearly extinct
pampas deer
The Pampas deer (''Ozotoceros bezoarticus'') is a species of deer that live in the grasslands of South America at low elevations.Geist, Valerius. Deer of the world their evolution, behaviour, and ecology'. Mechanicsburg, Pa: Stackpole Books, 1998 ...
, been protected by law. Other common fowl include
gray hawk
The gray hawk (''Buteo plagiatus'') or Mexican goshawk is a smallish Bird of prey, raptor found in open country and forest edges. It is sometimes placed in the genus ''Asturina'' as ''Asturina plagiata''. The species was split by the American Orn ...
s,
partridge
A partridge is a medium-sized galliform bird in any of several genera, with a wide native distribution throughout parts of Europe, Asia and Africa. Several species have been introduced to the Americas. They are sometimes grouped in the Perd ...
s,
martins,
coot
Coots are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family, Rallidae. They constitute the genus ''Fulica'', the name being the Latin term for "coot". Coots have predominantly black plumage, and—unlike many rails—they are usually ...
s and
storks.
The region is also home to
pumas,
pampas fox
The Pampas fox (''Lycalopex gymnocercus''), also known as grey pampean fox, Pampas zorro, Azara's fox, or Azara's zorro (in Spanish also called , anglicized as aguarachay, in Portuguese also called ), is a medium-sized zorro, or "false" fox, na ...
es,
cavia
''Cavia'' is a genus in the subfamily Caviinae that contains the rodents commonly known as guinea pigs or cavies. The best-known species in this genus is the domestic guinea pig, ''Cavia porcellus'', a meat animal in South America and a common ...
s,
maras and other drought-resistant mammals, as well as some also common to
North America, like
skunks and
opossums.
Human use
The arrival of British-financed railways to the region in the 1880s brought with it the area's first significant presence of white settlers, some of whom had served in the regiments involved in the
Conquest of the Desert
The Conquest of the Desert ( es, Conquista del desierto) was an Argentine military campaign directed mainly by General Julio Argentino Roca in the 1870s with the intention of establishing dominance over the Patagonian Desert, inhabited primar ...
and were granted vast tracts of land. Much of the area was subsequently fenced into cattle and sheep ranches, which dominate the region's land use to the present day; area ranchers raise approximately four million cattle (a tenth of Argentina's). Since the 1940s, advances in agriculture and crop breeding have allowed for intensive
wheat
Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...
,
sunflower,
oats
The oat (''Avena sativa''), sometimes called the common oat, is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name (usually in the plural, unlike other cereals and pseudocereals). While oats are suitable for human co ...
and
alfalfa cultivation, as well.
Conservation and threats
Though many of the
hydroelectric projects put into place since then have encouraged the development of a scattering of prosperous urban areas like
Santa Rosa, La Pampa
Santa Rosa () is a city in the Argentine Pampas (lowlands), and the capital of La Pampa Province, Argentina. It lies on the east of the province, on the shore of the Don Tomás Lagoon, at the intersection of National Routes 5 and 35. The cit ...
, some have had
unintended consequences
In the social sciences, unintended consequences (sometimes unanticipated consequences or unforeseen consequences) are outcomes of a purposeful action that are not intended or foreseen. The term was popularised in the twentieth century by Ameri ...
to the area's ecological balance. Dams along the
Atuel River
The Atuel River is a river located mainly in the south of the Argentine province of Mendoza, with its last part in La Pampa. It is a tributary of the Desaguadero River.
The Atuel is the longest river in Mendoza. It is born in the Andes range, a ...
, for instance, are often allowed to release the rainy season's excess water with little regard to the area around rural Algarrobo del Aguila, La Pampa, causing avoidable inconvenience and disruption of nearby wetlands.
Until recently, the region was the only one in Argentina lacking a
national park or natural preserve. In 1971, descendants of
La Pampa Province landowners Arminda Roca and Pedro Luro deeded 7,600 hectares (29 mi
2) to the provincial government, which opened the park to the public five years later. Though the area would not be designated as fully protected until 1996, this was the first significant move to protect the biome. Today the
Luro Park Natural Preserve is the most visited such area in the dry pampas region. In 1977, a 9,900 hectare (38 mi
2) parcel in La Pampa Province's southern dry grasslands were set aside as
Lihué Calel National Park
Lihué Calel National Park ( es, Parque Nacional Lihué Calel) ( Mapudungun Lihue = "life" and Calel "mountainous area", "mountains of life") is a national park in Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no ...
.
These accomplishments notwithstanding, the area's ecosystem has been under increasing pressure by grazing and irrigation activities, apart from population and economic growth themselves.
See also
*
Arid Forest Research Institute
Arid Forest Research Institute (AFRI) is a research institute situated in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India. The institute conducts scientific research in forestry in order to provide technologies to increase the vegetative cover and to conserve biod ...
References
External links
*
Luro Park Natural PreserveLihué Calel National Park
{{DEFAULTSORT:Semi-Arid Pampas
Pampas
Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands
Ecoregions of Argentina
Grasslands of Argentina
.
Neotropical ecoregions