WEEK FOUR 7/29-8/4 Rio Camante
Could plants, biodiversity and the natural world be the answer?
Perhaps 510 million years ago, pollinating itself from water, algae was the first plant to exits on earth. The evolutionary process of vegetation from its first state as algae has grown immensely complex eventually incorporating briophytes, genosperms, angieosperms ect. As I stand beneath the largest tree I have ever seen, I wonder how it is even possible to evolve to a stage this massive. The tree is a “Coba” or Tornillo (Fabacea Sadringa). It is one of the signs that we have entered into a “pico” or virgin forest. The “Coba” is used for mahogany wood, and in many other forests it has been chopped down for its prized value. Here in the depths of the jungle adjacent to Rio Camante, “Coba” is only one of many rare species we have seen.
After a three day trek, covering around 25km we make it to the site that John has been talking about from the night we arrived. Using GPS and a map from a satellite image we river walked and machete our way to an unknown red patch on the map. Dr. John Janovec, who has been working on Wetland Diversity and Conservation of the Southwest Amazon, a project conducted by BRIT, thinks that this unknown red patch could be an unique habitat full of mysteries only botanists dream of. Throughout the Wetland Project they have established thousands of transects and are looking for future sites. Camante seems to be the bingo chip for Dr. John Janovec’s next research site. The forest was incredibly dense and it got dark around 4:30pm. This is a ten day expedition that had its promising results to be the adventure of a lifetime.
The journey began with a cable car ride across the Rio Araza, followed by Kyle macheting his leg and returning to Quincemil with one of John’s graduate students on the second day. Progress was slow because we were creating our own trail into an unknown forest. Due to the fact that we went over the Peruvian Independence Day, we had to hire a young college kid to be our “guio” (guide) because all the other guides wanted to stay and celebrate. When we finally arrived at Rio Camante it was breathtaking. I crossed a river with m backpack over my head and water up to my neck. We saw a Bushmaster as well as four viper snakes. We witnessed bioluminescent fungi, which is fungus that glows in the dark. There were tigrello and tapir tracks everywhere. It was unbelievable to say the least. Over the next a few days we analyzed the biodiversity and assessed the site for future studies. We discovered that Camante was a seasonally inundated Palm Swamp Forest and that it had the potential to be an amazing collection site. We pressed about 60 specimens, which is 12 different species, because each specimen needs to be pressed five times. John did not want to overwhelm the backpack load for the journey back and resisted from collecting the entire jungle.
With the packs noticeably lighter the hike back was much easier. It was difficult to leave such a rare ecosystem where John had only seen Melastomacea Micandicea or Cucumberace Arania once in his life. The vegetation of the jungle is unfamiliar many and its uses even more mysterious. As we descend our way down ridges toppled with bright green leaves, I wonder if the cure for cancer or AIDS lies within my view. The medicinal uses of plants seem almost more established by the ancient natives of Peru, than by the research labs of America. We slowly retreat back to civilization, but the thought that the flora right under our noses could be the answers to so many problems, tugs at the back of my mind.
Perhaps 510 million years ago, pollinating itself from water, algae was the first plant to exits on earth. The evolutionary process of vegetation from its first state as algae has grown immensely complex eventually incorporating briophytes, genosperms, angieosperms ect. As I stand beneath the largest tree I have ever seen, I wonder how it is even possible to evolve to a stage this massive. The tree is a “Coba” or Tornillo (Fabacea Sadringa). It is one of the signs that we have entered into a “pico” or virgin forest. The “Coba” is used for mahogany wood, and in many other forests it has been chopped down for its prized value. Here in the depths of the jungle adjacent to Rio Camante, “Coba” is only one of many rare species we have seen.
After a three day trek, covering around 25km we make it to the site that John has been talking about from the night we arrived. Using GPS and a map from a satellite image we river walked and machete our way to an unknown red patch on the map. Dr. John Janovec, who has been working on Wetland Diversity and Conservation of the Southwest Amazon, a project conducted by BRIT, thinks that this unknown red patch could be an unique habitat full of mysteries only botanists dream of. Throughout the Wetland Project they have established thousands of transects and are looking for future sites. Camante seems to be the bingo chip for Dr. John Janovec’s next research site. The forest was incredibly dense and it got dark around 4:30pm. This is a ten day expedition that had its promising results to be the adventure of a lifetime.
The journey began with a cable car ride across the Rio Araza, followed by Kyle macheting his leg and returning to Quincemil with one of John’s graduate students on the second day. Progress was slow because we were creating our own trail into an unknown forest. Due to the fact that we went over the Peruvian Independence Day, we had to hire a young college kid to be our “guio” (guide) because all the other guides wanted to stay and celebrate. When we finally arrived at Rio Camante it was breathtaking. I crossed a river with m backpack over my head and water up to my neck. We saw a Bushmaster as well as four viper snakes. We witnessed bioluminescent fungi, which is fungus that glows in the dark. There were tigrello and tapir tracks everywhere. It was unbelievable to say the least. Over the next a few days we analyzed the biodiversity and assessed the site for future studies. We discovered that Camante was a seasonally inundated Palm Swamp Forest and that it had the potential to be an amazing collection site. We pressed about 60 specimens, which is 12 different species, because each specimen needs to be pressed five times. John did not want to overwhelm the backpack load for the journey back and resisted from collecting the entire jungle.
With the packs noticeably lighter the hike back was much easier. It was difficult to leave such a rare ecosystem where John had only seen Melastomacea Micandicea or Cucumberace Arania once in his life. The vegetation of the jungle is unfamiliar many and its uses even more mysterious. As we descend our way down ridges toppled with bright green leaves, I wonder if the cure for cancer or AIDS lies within my view. The medicinal uses of plants seem almost more established by the ancient natives of Peru, than by the research labs of America. We slowly retreat back to civilization, but the thought that the flora right under our noses could be the answers to so many problems, tugs at the back of my mind.
Add a Comment
About
© 2009 Created by WonderDog on Ning. Create Your Own Social Network
You need to be a member of Pinhead Institute 2008 Interns to add comments!
Join this social network