Pagaibamba Protection Forest is a protected natural area in the region of

Cajamarca Cajamarca (), also known by the Quechua name, ''Kashamarka'', is the capital and largest city of the Cajamarca Region as well as an important cultural and commercial center in the northern Andes. It is located in the northern highlands of Peru ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

. The area was declared a protection forest in order to preserve the water supply of surrounding towns, preserve the

water cycle The water cycle, also known as the hydrologic cycle or the hydrological cycle, is a biogeochemical cycle that describes the continuous movement of water on, above and below the surface of the Earth. The mass of water on Earth remains fairly cons ...

of the area, protect road infrastructure and protection of soils by preventing erosion.

History

The Pagaibamba Protection Forest was established on June 19, 1987.

Geography

This protection forest is located in the district of Querocoto,

Chota Province Chota Province is a province of the Cajamarca Region in Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type ...

. It covers an extension of and protects a mountainous area dissected by small creeks. Elevations in the area are between 2300 and 2800 m.

Climate

Mean annual temperatures have a maximum of 10,9 °C and a minimum of 6,5 °C. The annual average precipitation has a maximum of 1,722 mm and a minimum of 834 mm.

Ecology

Flora

According to the

Holdridge life zones The Holdridge life zones system is a global bioclimatic scheme for the classification of land areas. It was first published by Leslie Holdridge in 1947, and updated in 1967. It is a relatively simple system based on few empirical data, giving ob ...

classification, the vegetation type is a wet tropical mountain forest. Among the plant species reported in the area are: saucecillo (''

Podocarpus ''Podocarpus'' () is a genus of conifers, the most numerous and widely distributed of the podocarp family, the Podocarpaceae. The name comes from Greek πούς (poús, “foot”) + καρπός (karpós, “fruit”). ''Podocarpus'' species ...

'' sp.), roble amarillo (''

Ocotea ''Ocotea'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Lauraceae. Many are evergreen trees with lauroid leaves. There are over 520 species currently accepted within the genus, distributed mostly in tropical and subtropical areas of ...

'' sp.), lanche ('' Myrcianthes'' sp.), suro ('' Chusquea'' sp.), queñual (''

Polylepis ''Polylepis'' is a genus comprising 28 recognised shrub and tree species, that are endemic to the mid- and high-elevation regions of the tropical Andes. This group is unique in the rose family in that it is predominantly wind-pollinated. They are ...

'' sp.), aliso (''

Alnus acuminata ''Alnus acuminata'' is a species of deciduous tree in the Betulaceae family. It is found in montane forests from central Mexico to Argentina.Zuloaga, F. O., O. N. Morrone, M. J. Belgrano, C. Marticorena & E. Marchesi. (eds.) 2008. Catálogo de la ...

''), palm trees, tree ferns, etc.; growing in association with tall grasses.

Fauna

Mammals reported in the forest include: the spectacled bear, the puma, the

white-tailed deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...

, the Andean fox, the montane guinea pig, the

mountain tapir The mountain tapir, also known as the Andean tapir or woolly tapir (''Tapirus pinchaque'') is the smallest of the four widely recognized species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism ...

, the

tapeti The common tapeti (''Sylvilagus brasiliensis''), also known as the Brazilian cottontail, forest cottontail, or (formerly) simply tapeti is a species of cottontail rabbit. It is small to medium-sized with a small, dark tail, short hind feet, and ...

, the pacarana, etc. Among the birds present in the area are: the razor-billed curassow, the Andean guan, the

Andean condor The Andean condor (''Vultur gryphus'') is a giant South American Cathartid vulture and is the only member of the genus ''Vultur''. Found in the Andes mountains and adjacent Pacific coasts of western South America, the Andean condor is the larg ...

, etc. The frog ''

Pristimantis ''Pristimantis'' is a very large genus of frogs distributed in the southern Caribbean islands (Lesser Antilles) and in Central and South America from Honduras to northern Argentina and southern Brazil. With 596 described species (as of October 20 ...

chimu'' is reported in this area.

Activities

Nature watching, trekking and scientific research are the main activities in the area.

Environmental issues

Deforestation is threatening the forest's area of extension. In late 2016, Pagaibamba was one of several protected areas in northern Peru affected by human-caused

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identi ...

s. These fires were caused by

slash-and-burn Slash-and-burn agriculture is a farming method that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody plants in an area. The downed veget ...

agricultural practices that went out of control coupled with

drought A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...

. The burning of forests to open land for crops is considered illegal in Peru.

References

External links

Bosque de Protección Pagaibamba. Official site (in Spanish).

Bosque de Protección Pagaibamba. Official map.Bosque de Protección Pagaibamba. Profile at Protectedplanet.net
{{Natural and Cultural Peruvian Heritage Protected areas of Peru Geography of Cajamarca Region Tourist attractions in Cajamarca Region