Junín National Reserve is a

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 ...

located in the region of Junín,

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 ...

. One of its main purposes is to protect the ecosystem and biodiversity of Lake Junín and the surrounding Central Andean wet puna.

Ecology

Flora

Land native plant species found in the reserve include: '' Plantago rigida,

Calamagrostis ''Calamagrostis'' (reed grass or smallweed) is a genus of flowering plants in the grass family Poaceae, with about 260 species that occur mainly in temperate regions of the globe. Towards equatorial latitudes, species of ''Calamagrostis'' general ...

vicunarum, Paranephelius ovatus, Lobelia oligophylla,

Baccharis ''Baccharis'' is a genus of perennial plant, perennials and shrubs in the Asteraceae, aster family (Asteraceae). They are commonly known as baccharises but sometimes referred to as "brooms", because many members have small thin leaves resembling ...

tricuneata,

Jarava ichu ''Jarava ichu'', commonly known as Peruvian feathergrass, ''ichhu'', ''paja brava'', ''paja ichu'', or simply ''ichu'' (Quechua for straw), is a grass species in the family Poaceae native to the Americas. It is found growing in a vast area: Mexic ...

Alchemilla ''Alchemilla'' is a genus of herbaceous perennial plants in the family Rosaceae, with the common name lady's mantle applied generically as well as specifically to ''Alchemilla mollis'' when referred to as a garden plant. The plant used as a herb ...

pinnata, Festuca dolychophylla, Chuquiraga spinosa,

Geranium ''Geranium'' is a genus of 422 species of annual, biennial, and perennial plants that are commonly known as geraniums or cranesbills. They are found throughout the temperate regions of the world and the mountains of the tropics, with the gre ...

sessiliflorum,

Distichia A distichia is an eyelash that arises from an abnormal part of the eyelid. This abnormality, attributed to a genetic mutation, is known to affect dogs and humans. Distichiae usually exit from the duct of the meibomian gland at the eyelid margin. ...

muscoides,

Ribes ''Ribes'' () is a genus of about 200 known species of flowering plants, most of them native to the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The species may be known as various kinds of currants, such as redcurrants, blackcurrants, and White ...

cuneifolium, Azorella diapensioides, Austrocylindropuntia floccosa,

Lupinus ''Lupinus'', commonly known as lupin, lupine, or regionally bluebonnet, is a genus of plants in the legume family Fabaceae. The genus includes over 199 species, with centre of diversity, centres of diversity in North America, North and South A ...

brachyphyllus, etc.'' Aquatic native plant species found in the reserve include: ''

Schoenoplectus californicus ''Schoeneoplectus californicus'' is a species of sedge known by the common names California bulrush, southern bulrush and giant bulrush. It is also sometimes called "tule", but the closely related ''Schoenoplectus acutus'' is the species most oft ...

Elodea ''Elodea'' is a genus of eight species of aquatic plants often called the waterweeds described as a genus in 1803. Classified in the frog's-bit family ( Hydrocharitaceae), ''Elodea'' is native to the Americas and is also widely used as aquarium v ...

potamogeton,

Juncus ''Juncus'' is a genus of monocotyledonous flowering plants, commonly known as rushes. It is the largest genus in the family Juncaceae, containing around 300 species. Description Rushes of the genus ''Juncus'' are herbaceous plants that superfici ...

arcticus,

Myriophyllum ''Myriophyllum'' (water milfoil) is a genus of about 69 species of freshwater aquatic plants, with a cosmopolitan distribution. The centre of diversity for ''Myriophyllum'' is Australia with 43 recognized species (37 endemic). These submersed aq ...

quitense, Chara fragilis,

Potamogeton ''Potamogeton'' is a genus of aquatic, mostly freshwater, plants of the family Potamogetonaceae. Most are known by the common name pondweed, although many unrelated plants may be called pondweed, such as Canadian pondweed (''Elodea canadensis' ...

'' spp.'','' etc.

Fauna

Some of the birds found in the reserve include: the Junin grebe, the Junin crake (both species endemic to this lake); the Puna teal, the common gallinule, the

Andean goose The Andean goose (''Chloephaga melanoptera'') is a species of waterfowl in tribe Tadornini of subfamily Anserinae.HBW and BirdLife International (2021) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds ...

, the

Chilean flamingo The Chilean flamingo (''Phoenicopterus chilensis'') is a species of large flamingo at a height of closely related to the American flamingo and the greater flamingo, with which it was previously considered a subspecies before being classified ...

, the

ruddy duck The ruddy duck (''Oxyura jamaicensis'') is a species of duck in the family Anatidae. The ruddy duck is one of six species within the stiff-tailed ducks (genus ''Oxyura''). Stiff-tailed ducks occupy heavily vegetated habitats in North and ...

, the yellow-billed pintail, the silvery grebe, the

Andean gull The Andean gull (''Chroicocephalus serranus'') is a species in subfamily Larinae of the family Laridae, the gulls, terns, and skimmers. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. ...

, etc. Among the mammals found in the reserve are: the Andean fox, the

northern viscacha The northern viscacha (''Lagidium peruanum'') is a species of viscacha, a rodent in the family Chinchillidae. It is known from Peru and Chile, at elevations from 300 to 5000 m, and may also be present in Bolivia. Description The northern visca ...

, the

Molina's hog-nosed skunk Molina's hog-nosed skunk, also called the Andes skunk (''Conepatus chinga''), is a skunk species from South America. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Paraguay, and Uruguay, at elevations up to 5000 m. Habitat The Molina's ...

, the montane guinea pig, the

Pampas cat The Pampas cat (''Leopardus colocola'') is a small wild cat native to South America. It is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List as habitat conversion and destruction may cause the population to decline in the future. It is named aft ...

, the

long-tailed weasel The long-tailed weasel (''Neogale frenata''), also known as the bridled weasel, masked ermine, or big stoat, is a species of weasel found in North America, North, Central America, Central, and South America. It is distinct from the Stoat, short-t ...

, etc.

References

National reservations of Peru Ramsar sites in Peru Geography of the Department of Junín {{SouthAm-protected-area-stub