This year’s field campaign has been completed in Río Abiseo National Park, Peru

We have finished the fieldwork for this year in Río Abiseo National Park, Peru. From March to the end of August, our team have been working in the uplands (3000 m) and midlands (2000 m) of the National Park. The work has been hard, not only because of the already difficult working conditions in montane forests, with sharp slopes, persistent rainfall and slippery ground, but also because this part of the Park is very isolated and inaccessible. The closest village, Pataz, is more than three days walking, and it is necessary to cross the paramo at 4000 m elevation.

The expeditions have had many difficulties, bridges had to be built to cross rivers, ropes were used to desdend some parts, and carrying food and equipment for long stages.

Finally, we have managed to finish the inventory of woody plants in 20 0.1-ha plots. All the collected material is now deposited at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, collaborating institution in this project.

Now it is necessary to process all this material and identify hundreds of tree and liana species we have collected during these months, a work that will demand experience and patience of botanists and taxonomists.