The Piagaçu Purus Sustainable Development Reserve (RDS-PP)
This conservation unity is located on the lower section of the Purus River, in central Amazonas State, Brazil. This reserve protects nearly 834,245 ha of continuous well-preserved habitats of upland rainforest (or “terra firme”) and várzea forests, with the aim of balancing biodiversity conservation with achieving sustainable livelihoods for traditional communities.
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| Localization of our study area: The Piagaçu-Purus Sustainable Development Reserve. |
Embracing a high biodiversity, about half the RDS-PP area is composed of várzea lakes and forests which provides an incredible opportunity to undertake studies on várzea specialists, like the Wattled Curassow. Being recently decreed, in 2003, the reserve’s participatory management plan is still in progress, for which there is a need to conduct ecological studies especially on those species of highest subsistence value for local communities and build capacity for local people involvement. The study area will be in the northern section of the reserve, which contains about 80% of the 350,000 ha of continuous protected várzea of the RDSPP. Fieldwork will be focused on three várzea communities belonging to two (Caua-Cuiuana and Itápuru) of the seven sectors (or management unities) of the RDS-PP.
The várzea habitat
Várzea forest refers to seasonal floodplain forest inundated by white water rivers that occurs in the Amazon River Basin.
Amazonian várzea forests are one of the most productive areas in the world! They are flooded by nutrient rich and high sediment "white water" rivers such as the Solimões-Amazon, the Purus, and Madeira rivers. This makes the várzea areas distinct from igapós, floodplains from nutrient poor black water. The water level fluctuations that the várzea experiences result in distinct aquatic and terrestrial phases within the year. Amazonian white water river floodplains cover an area of more than 300,000 km2, and várzea forests cover approximately 180,000 km2 of the Amazon basin. 68% of the Amazonian river basin is located in Brazil, with the remaining areas located in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Peru, Suriname, and Guyana.
Due to the renewal of soil nutrients caused by the annual white water flooding, várzea forests serve as important breeding grounds for fish, birds, mammals, and reptiles. In order to grow and survive in this environment, both plant and animals must have a large range of morphological, anatomical, physiological and ethological adaptations. Both Amazonian manatees (Trichechus inunguis) and river dolphins (Inia geoffrensis) spend time in várzea areas during high water periods of the flood season. In addition, black caiman (Melanosuchus niger) are abundant and also play an important ecological role. The charismatic jaguar (Panthera onca) is also found in a variety of várzea habitat types.
Unfortunately, this unique and biodiverse habitat is one of the most threatened in the Amazon, due to deforestation for logging and agricultural purposes.
Here, some inspiring pictures of the várzea and the communities of the RDS-PP.
Photo credits: All photos by Carolina Bertsch.
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