Mburucuyá National Park () is a

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. It is located in the north west of the

Corrientes Province Corrientes (, ‘currents’ or ‘streams’; ), officially the Province of Corrientes (; ) is a Provinces of Argentina, province in northeast Argentina, in the Mesopotamia, Argentina, Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by (from the north, cl ...

around from the city of Corrientes and covers an area of of the Iberá Wetlands. The area is important for the provision of water, the regulation of

floods A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

and droughts in the local region through its effects on the regional

microclimate A microclimate (or micro-climate) is a local set of atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric conditions that differ from those in the surrounding areas, often slightly but sometimes substantially. The term may refer to areas as small as a few square m ...

History

Around 5,000 years ago the area was populated by

indigenous peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

, in more recent times the area was occupied by the Guaraní who introduced the cultivation of

maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...

, squash,

beans A bean is the seed of some plants in the legume family (Fabaceae) used as a vegetable for human consumption or animal feed. The seeds are often preserved through drying (a ''pulse''), but fresh beans are also sold. Dried beans are tradition ...

Cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava, manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although ...

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

and

yerba mate Yerba mate or yerba maté (), ''Ilex paraguariensis'', is a plant species of the holly genus native to South America. It was named by the French botanist Augustin Saint-Hilaire. The leaves of the plant can be steeped in hot water to make a bev ...

. When the territory was colonized by the Spanish many of the original settlements were occupied and substantially modified. The introduction of large scale agriculture saw the indiscriminate

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. Ab ...

of native trees. The creation of the national park occurred in the 20th century. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Dr. Troels Pederson donated the territory for the creation of the national park. The objectives of the park are to maintain the environment and show the region in its historical context.

Plant communities

The park is divided between three distinct plant communities – ''chaqueña'', ''espinal'', and ''selva paranaense''.

Chaco Oriental

The Chaco Oriental or

Humid Chaco The Humid Chaco ( Spanish: ''Chaco Húmedo'' or ''Chaco Oriental'') is a tropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands ecoregion in South America. It lies in the basin of the Paraná River, covering portions of central Paraguay and northern Arge ...

is composed of woodland, palms, grass plains and wetlands. Some characteristic native species are quebracho colorado (''Schinopsis lorentzii'') and quebraco blanco (''Aspidosperma quebracho-blanco''), urunday (''Myracrodruon balansae''), and viraró (''Ruprechtia laxiflora''), '' Prosopis'', and caranday palm (''Copernicia alba'').

Selva Paranaense

The Selva Paranaense is characterised by small hills, local species include the palms '' Syagrus romanzoffiana'' and timbó (''Enterolobium contortisiliquum''), and laurel.

El Espinal

The Espinal is populated with yatay palms, grassland, and diverse xerophile woodland.

Fauna

The park has around 150 species of birds, and many species of animal including

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 ...

caiman A caiman ( (also spelled cayman) from Taíno language, Taíno ''kaiman'') is an alligatorid belonging to the subfamily Caimaninae, one of two primary lineages within the Alligatoridae family (biology), family, the other being alligators. ...

, foxes,

armadillo Armadillos () are New World placental mammals in the order (biology), order Cingulata. They form part of the superorder Xenarthra, along with the anteaters and sloths. 21 extant species of armadillo have been described, some of which are dis ...

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 ...

s, and brown howler monkeys. Endangered species include

maned wolf The maned wolf (''Chrysocyon brachyurus'') is a large canine of South America. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, and Paraguay, and is almost extinct in Uruguay. Its markings resemble those of a red fox, but it is neither a fox nor ...

, neotropical river otter, and marsh deer. Native fish species include golden dorado and pseudoplatystoma.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mburucuya National Park National parks of Argentina Protected areas of Corrientes Province Humid Chaco