NATURAL RESOURCES OF THE PERUVIAN JUNGLE: FORESTS AND DIVERSITY - ENVIRONMENT - 2024

The natural resources of the Peruvian jungle are the elements of nature of ecological, social and economic importance present in the Peruvian jungle. La Selva is one of the natural macroregions of Peru. It is located west of the Sierra, on the eastern slope of the Andes. It occupies 60.32% of the Peruvian territory.

La Selva is part of the Amazon, an extensive geographic region shared between Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Suriname, Peru, and Venezuela. This great ecosystem has the largest area of ​​tropical forest and the largest water network in the world.

Laguna de los Cóndores, Chachapoyas, Amazonas, Peru. Author: flickr.com/photos//29158968563/in/photostream/

The great heterogeneity of geographic, geological and climatic characteristics of this region has allowed the development of extensive forests that contain the greatest biological diversity on the planet. In turn, this region has been endowed with natural elements such as minerals, hydrocarbons and important sources of water.

Forests

In the macro-region of the jungle there is the largest extension of forest area in Peru. These forests can be classified into two main types: high jungle forests and low jungle forests.

High jungle forests

They are located on the eastern Andean slope and north of the western slope, between 800 and 3,700 meters above sea level.

These forests are characterized by the presence of mist. Its trees are of medium size and are covered with a large number of epiphytic plants such as orchids, bromeliads and ferns. The soils are rocky and have a large amount of humus. Its orography is marked by innumerable rivers and streams.

These forests are of great importance because they are home to a large number of endemic species of this region. In turn, they represent a strategic area for the protection of the headwaters of the basins.

Low jungle forests

They represent most of the country's forests. They are located in the Amazon plain, below 800 meters above sea level. These forests are classified in turn into flooded forests, non-flooded humid forests, aguajales and pacales.

Flood forests, also known as bajiales, grow on the banks of rivers, which flood during the summer season. Its trees develop large roots that allow them to remain stable and withstand the lack of oxygen that causes the saturation of the flooded soil.

The non-floodable or dry land forests are the most extensive and diverse in the Peruvian Amazon. These can be terraced or hilly forests. The humid terrace forests grow in flat or gently sloping areas. Moist hill forests are the most common. They occupy mountainous terrain of variable height and slope.

The aguajales are forests that grow on permanently flooded soils where the aguaje palm (Mauritia flexuosa) dominates. The pacales are characteristic forests of the southwestern Amazon, in which the Guadua bamboos predominate, whose vernacular name is paca.

These forests not only have great ecological value, but are also an important tourist attraction. On the other hand, they are important in the process of the fixation of carbon dioxide and release of oxygen, therefore they intervene in the regulation of the climate, the production of water and the cycling of nutrients.

Species diversity

The Peruvian jungle is one of the most biodiverse places on the planet. Not only does it have a large number of species of fauna and flora, but it is also an important area of ​​endemisms. In this sense, the Peruvian jungle constitutes a genetic reserve of global importance.

Fauna

The Peruvian jungle is home to the largest number of butterfly species (4,200). It has 20% of the planet's bird species (806). In addition, 293 species of mammals (of 513 for Peru), 180 species of reptiles (of 375 for Peru) and 602 species of amphibians (of 332 for Peru) have been counted.

Fish constitute an important part of the Amazonian economy and the food of its inhabitants. 2,500 species of fish have been identified in the Amazon.

The large catfish species that inhabit the Amazon estuary and the foothills of the Andes stand out. The paiche or pirarucú (Arapaima gigas) is the largest fish in the Amazonian rivers, it can measure more than 3 m and weigh more than 250 kg.

Arapaima gigas. Author: www.flickr.com/photos/kubina/123853186

Ornamental fish are an important natural resource in the Amazon rainforest. At present more than 150 species are registered for export, among which the otocinclos or barbudos and the arawanas stand out. This last species is threatened by being overexploited.

Hunting of large mammals is also an important source of food for local people. Large mammals, such as deer, river and land turtles, tapirs, peccaries, rodents, and large primates, provide the main volume of game meat.

Flora

In Peru, a third of the vascular plants known in the entire planet have been registered. In 1997 a research project reported that in just three weeks 800 plant species belonging to 94 families were collected. Several were new to science.

In the Amazon rainforest there are more than 3,000 species of plants identified as useful for nutritional purposes (fruits, roots, nuts, among others), medicinal or to obtain fibers, oils, waxes, latex, aromatic essences, stimulants, colorants, among others..

Approximately 1,600 species of plants have been used by the indigenous peoples of the Amazon to cure various diseases.

The Amazon is considered a center for the domestication of plants, among which the cassava (Manihot esculenta) and the pejibaye (Bactris gasipaes) can be mentioned. Currently, cassava is an important crop for the self-sufficiency of the indigenous peoples of the Amazon.

Timber and non-timber

In Peru 1.8 million m³ of roundwood are produced annually, of which more than 221,000 m³ correspond to illegal timber extraction, that is, more than 12% of national production.

Timber production and the pressure of logging on the forest can lead to the extinction of species of great economic value.

Among the non-timber products of the forest, the historical exploitation of rubber to obtain latex stands out. This was an important industry that had its peak between the 1850s and 1880s. This global demand reached, with different intensities, all the Amazonian countries.

Another important non-timber product is the Brazil nut or Brazil nut, Bertholletia excelsa. One of the dominant species in the canopy of the mainland forests of the Amazon, especially in Brazil, Peru and Bolivia, with an estimated distribution area of ​​325 million hectares.

The market for the seeds of this tree constitutes 1 or 2% of the total volume of international trade in nuts.

It is considered one of the most viable alternatives for the sustainable use of Amazonian forests, because the collection method involves minimal levels of forest alteration.

Minerals

The Peruvian jungle is a macro-region rich in minerals. In it is iron, manganese, coal, zinc, bauxite, gold, among other minerals available in smaller quantities. Its mineral reserves are estimated to constitute 16% of world reserves.

The extraction of minerals threatens the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems of the Amazon basin. Small-scale gold mining is widely practiced in the upper basin of the Madre de Dios River, this being a major environmental problem by contaminating the water with mercury and other heavy metals, diverting the course of the rivers.

Hydrocarbons: oil and gas

The Amazon rainforest of Peru has some of the largest exploitable deposits of oil and gas in the Amazon. Currently this region produces 16,500,615 barrels per year.

There are operations with hydrocarbons in some Natural Protected Areas of the Jungle, such as the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve, the Machiguenga Communal Reserve and the Pucacuro Reserved Zone. This situation reflects the great pressure of the oil industry on the Amazon ecosystem.

In addition, the jungle has natural gas reserves. The Camisea gas field is one of the largest energy projects in South America. There natural gas is pumped from deposits located 4,000 meters deep, in the lower Urubamba jungle.

References

1. Alonzo, JA (2012). Conservation and development of the Amazon in a megadiverse context. Amazon Science (Iquitos), 2, (1): 57-62.
2. Dourojeanni, M., A. Barandiarán and D. Dourojeanni. (2010). Peruvian Amazon in 2021: Exploitation of natural resources and infrastructure: What's up? What do they mean for the future?. Boiset Forets des Tropiques, 305 (3): 78-82.
3. Ministry of the Environment. 2010. Fourth national report on the application of the Convention on Biological Diversity, years 2006-2009. Lima Peru.
4. Ministry of the Environment. 2014. Fifth national report on the application of the Convention on Biological Diversity, years 2010-2013. Lima Peru.
5. Organization of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty. (2009). GEO amazonia: perspectives of the environment in the Amazon.