Serra do Divisor National Park

Serra do Divisor National Park
IUCN category II (national park)
284px Moa River in Serra do Divisor National Park
Location within Brazil
Location	Acre, Brazil
Coordinates
Area	8,463 km2 (3,268 sq mi)
Established	1989
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Serra do Divisor National Park is a 8,463 km² (3,268 sq mi) national park on the westernmost point of Brazil, in the state of Acre, near Peruvian border. It is also the highest point in that state, reaching 609 meters above sea level. It has been nominated by the Brazilian government as a Tentative World Heritage Site since 1998.

In 2013, Rainforest Trust launched a campaign to fund the establishment of another national park in the same area on the Peruvian side of the border.

Climate

The climate is hot and humid tropical, with one to two month dry season. The average temperature in a year is +24°C, with 1.750 to 2.000 mm total /year.

Geomorphology

Altitude: 200-600 m. Hilly and mountainous with large alluvial plains and some low tabular plateaus. Separating the two basins of Rio Ucayali (Peru) and Juruá (Brazil), the Park shelters main sources of Jurua 's left margin affluent. It is structured in four main hill massifs (Serras da Jaquirana, do Moa, do Jurua-Mirim & do Rio Branco), separated by flat plains and valleys of the corresponding affluent of the Juruá basin. Margins of the lower section of the Juruá and Moa rivers are regularly to permanently inundated, having lots of lakes, igapós and igarapés. Higher up, are found some tabular well drained areas (250 m). Higher still, the landscape is mostly made of hills of up to 300 m with poorly marked valleys. The four sierras culminate up to 600 m, with asymmetric limestone crests dividing the basins.

Wild life

Vegetation: Rapid ecological assessment survey in 1991 characterised 10 forest types within the Park and recorded biodiversity. Most of the area is covered by open rainforest with palm trees or bamboos, dense and open sub-mountain rainforests, and dense and open alluvial rainforests (Periodically-inundated forests). All forest types show quite differentiated structure, flora and tree species dominance. Open forest grows on poorly drained, wet or inundated soils. Palm-trees become more frequent on wetter soils. On dryer soils grow the dense lowland rainforests (Not-flooded forests) Open sub-mountain forests grow on the lower hillsides. Dense sub-mountain forests appear on the higher slopes. On the tops grows a " Low forest" with typical and rare sub-Andean species. Open alluvial forests grow on river margins frequently inundated by muddy waters. Dense alluvial forests appear in less frequently inundated areas.

Fauna: Rapid Ecological Assessment allowed to count in one month: 43 big mammal species, more than 100 amphibian and 30 reptile species, 485 bird species, 6 families, 33 genres and 55 species of bats, 21 genres and 64 species of Hymenopteres, and finally: 29 spider families (in the northem sector of the park, only). Of these, 17 mammals, 4 reptiles and 20 birds are considered to be threatened or rare species. Two new bird species were discovered. Local Population 1.200 families.

People

Amazonian population live within or just at the margin of the Park's limits, most of whom have been collecting rubber for several generations. Low rubber prices induced these populations to start new and unsustainable activities, like cow ranching, timber cutting, commercial hunting and fishing and animal capturing, as well as fossils and stones trade. These activities are still incipient. It is planned to remove most of the population towards other, more favourable areas. The remaining population, having deep knowledge of the area, may be involved in the Park's surveillance, maintenance and tourism activities.

Access and infrastructure Main access is by boat, on the Moa or Jurua rivers, from the City of Cruzeiro do Sul. It has no tourism infrastructure.

References

• UNESCO