Parque Costero del Sur Biosphere Reserve (Argentina)

Parque Costero del Sur Biosphere Reserve (Argentina)

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The Parque Costero del Sur Biosphere Reserve is located on Argentina's Atlantic coast in the southern part of the Rio de la Plata estuary. The humid and swampy region comprises fertile pampas grasslands, swamps, wetlands, and dry forests.

Parque Costero del Sur Biosphere Reserve

The Parque Costero del Sur Biosphere Reserve is located on Argentina's Atlantic coast in the southern part of the Rio de la Plata estuary. The humid and swampy region comprises fertile pampas grasslands, swamps, wetlands, and dry forests.

The Biosphere Reserve is part of a larger wetland zone that extends along the right margin of the Río de la Plata estuary.

The Biosphere Reserve is in the transition zone between two geosystems: the river and the pampas. Therefore, it features a great diversity of ecological niches (fauna populations).

Due to its fertile soil, most of the Pampas has been degraded by agriculture, making the Biosphere Reserve one of the last original and preserved areas.

Flora and Fauna

It has various terrains: grasslands, flooded and non-flooded swamps, and wetlands, as well as forests home to the vulnerable marsh deer (Blastocerus dichotomous).

The tala (Celtis australis) forests are an important resting and feeding place for migrating and local birds. Its biological importance lies in the fact that the Celtis ehrenbergiana is not its only component but is accompanied by a great variety of other trees, shrubs, and grass species, which serve as a shelter for mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and insects.

More than 200 bird species find refuge and food in the tala forests of the region. It is representative of the Pampas, fertile lowlands covering many areas of Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil.

Mammals such as mountain cats (Felis spp.) and ocelots (Felis pardalis) are also found in the Reserve.

Heritage Value

The Costero del Sur Biosphere Reserve has an important heritage of cultural traditions related to cattle industry development ('gauchos' of the Rio de la Plata region) and architectural monuments from European immigrant culture.

In the 19th Century, the gaucho became a hero in the War of Independence and the Argentine Civil War. Forming what was known as the Montaneras, these were essentially groups of rural-born men from the Rio de la Plata region fighting against the centralism of Buenos Aires.

Almost 1,100 tourists visit the Reserve annually for camping and ecological tourism. In addition, over 500 inhabitants live in the Reserve, engaged in extensive agriculture, cattle grazing and handcrafts.

Environmental Status

This region has been subjected to the most significant degree of human alteration in the country, and only those parts not suitable for agriculture remain in their natural state. Hunting and timber extraction is also carried out.