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SIERRA CARAL FOREST AND WATER RESERVE



Data Sheet


ACCESS

There are 5 accesses by dirt road to Sierra Caral area, passable mainly in summer, nevertheless, in the months of highest rainfall intensity access is hampered by the need to cross some rivers of considerable flow rate and roads are damaged by runoffs, then these pathways are described.

On the Atlantic road at Km 274 is reached the crossroads of Champona village in paved road, then take dirt road about 10 km to reach the Motagua River which is crossed by boat and across the community is located El Manguito, the outer boundary of the protected area is located approximately 2 km, at this point the ascent on foot or beast starts penetrating into the wooded area.

Leaving from Morales, take the dirt road to Switch Quebradas passing through the villages Quebrada Grande and then Las Ánimas crossing 22 km, at this point the access is by foot or by horse or beast in narrow ways to Santa Rosita's community walking about 4 hours.

Another way to access is by dirt road that goes from Morales to Quebrada de la Sierra Village passing through Playitas area and arriving in 2 and 4 wheel drive vehicle, this road by vehicle is 24 passable kilometers most of the year except for months of October to December when the river Chinamito raises its flow rate.

There is also access by a private dirt road from Morales passing through Quebradas Farm then passing the lots of the Private Farm San Silvestre crossing Bobos River crossing the house of machinery and management offices until reaching a place known as Fabrigas Dam (Hydroelectric Bobos River) the entire route distance is 25 km reaching the middle of the mountains.

Another alternative road to get there is from Morales 25km by dirt road on the way to Sierra Caral Amphibian Reserve by 4-wheel-drive vehicle mainly in summer.


Characteristic

Sierra Caral has approximately 26.94 km long from the Basin of Bobos River to Chiquito River and 9.53 km wide from Honduras's border to the foot of the mountain adjoined to the Valley of Motagua River. Its peaks range between 100 and 1,221 MASL. It belongs to the jurisdiction of the municipality of Morales, department of Izabal in the Caribbean of Guatemala.

The category of Hold ridge’s life zone (1947) is within the living zones of Very Humid Tropical Forest (VHTF) at elevations below 900 MASL and Sub-Tropical Rainforest (Bmh-S[c]) from 900 to 1,221 MASL finding species of Cyathea sp. and Alsophila sp. (tree ferns) and Liquidambar sp. (sweetgum) and other forest species. (FUNDAECO, Observations).

The water potential which Sierra Caral has is considered the major supplier of water in all communities within and outside the area since it has rivers with higher flow rates than of 2 liters/seconds favoring 25 communities settled within and outside of the protected area, providing them of vital liquid which comes from 5 main micro basins which are: Bobos river, Quebradas river, Animas river, Negro river and Chiquito river.

From the Republic of Honduras the Animas and Quebradas rivers stream and the following three rivers' source are within the protected area. The micro basins abovementioned drain mainly the watersheds of the Motagua (Guatemala) and Chamelecón (Honduras) rivers.

Soils are considered suitable only for national parks, recreation, wildlife, tree protection and watersheds (soil suitable for forestry). There are few interfoliar areas where the main relief is a soft slope which eventually with proper management it could engage in sustainable agriculture.


Flora

Sierra Caral belongs to Biome of Tropical Rain Forest but with great influence of Biome of Forest Mountain which penetrates from Las Verapaces through Sierra Las Minas peaks and Merendón mountain range. One of the arboreal indicators of this type of relationship is Liquidambar syracuflua although much of the evidence of the relationship has gone because of the loss of ecological continuity between the natural communities of the mountains that shared with others biota such as: Cuchumatanes (in part), Chamá, Chuacús (in part), Las Minas and El Merendón. The importance of Sierra Caral increases for being an isolated remnant of a genesis biogeography condition of the country more interlinked.

Sierra Caral currently has three forests that fall into three categories:

  1. Intervened
  2. Young (guamiles)
  3. Less intervened

In the intervened forests the following species are found: mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla), sangre (Virola koschnyi), baríllo (Symphonia globulifera), llaroconte (Talauma mexicana), Santa María (Calophyllum brasiliense var. Rekoi), laurel (Cordia gerascanthus), rájate bien (Aspidosperma megalocarpon).

In young forests are tambor (Ochroma lagopus), irayol (Genipa caruto), sombra de chivo (Bourreria huanita) and achiotillo (Miconia xalapensis), this latter is a specie widely used by populations as organic fertilizer; on the other hand, it is in this type o vegetation where a lot of medicinal plants grows which are used by the communities. Among the most frequent herbs are lastimosas (Mimosa albida), ñame (Dioscorea alata), quequexque (Xantosoma robustum,) and fertilizer bean (Phaseolus coccineus), also piperáceas (Piper sp.), mozote (Triumffeta multiloba), and gramíneas as "cola de venado" (Imperata contracta) and pasta elefante (Pennisetum purpureum).

Finally, in forests that have been less intervened are distinguished in the dominant layer mapola (Bernoullia flammea), granillo (Phoebe mexicana), barillo (Symphonia globulifera), Ramón (Brosimum alicastrum), mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) and la caral or botán (Sabal morrisiana). It is said that the mountain range took its name from the common name of the latter one, forming the canopy or general forest floor, in the stratum of the co-dominant are: tamarindo (Dialium guianense), selillón (Pouteria amygdalina), laurel (Cordia gerascanthus), chichique (Aspidosperma megalocarpon), San Juan (Vochysia guatemalensis) frijolillo (Pithecelobium arboreum), rájate-bien (Vides cooperi), palacio (Zuelania guidonia) and lagarto(Zanthoxylum kellermanii).

Fauna

FUNDAECO (2010) has developed studies of hepertofauna taking into account the area endemism, having a total of 6 species of frogs and salamanders: Duellmanohyla soralia, Craugastor nefrens, Bolitoglossa dofleini, Bolitoglossa dunni, Nototriton brodiei, Cryptotriton wakei. Sierra Caral also shelters national and international endangered amphibians’ species such as: Bufo campbelli, Bufo valliceps, Ptychohyla hypomykter, Craugastor chac, Craugastor charadra, Craugastor laticeps, Craugastor psephosyoharus, Craugastor sabrinus, Agalychnis moreleti, Mexican Bolitoglossa, Bolitoglossa rufescen, Dermophis mexicanus, and Gymnophis syntrema.

Sierra Caral is catalogued as an area of high endemism with 10 species according to the study of Passalidos (beteles) made by Shuster and Cano (2002), among those species Petrojoides caralae stands out.

Fundaeco reports 201 species belonging to 14 orders and 36 families. In Sierra Caral were detected 13 species that are considered regionally endemic. One of these species Penelopina nigra is from the endemic highlands of Central America from 500 MASL to 2,500 MASL. Among the avifauna of Sierra Caral are 40 species that are under some conservation regime (IUCN Red List, CONAP Red List), priority species according to Stotz et al. (1996) and the list of THE Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).


ACTIONS FOR NATURE CONSERVATION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF LOCAL COMMUNITIES

The vision of sustainable conservation in Sierra Caral Water and Forest Reserve has been achieved through community strengthening by creating Sierra Caral Intercommunity Council which represents 22 communities. In order to strengthening the community has been held trainings, workshops and support to create the council aimed to become an association which is in registration process.



Intercommunity Council Meeting Creation of Association meeting

Other actions for sustainable development of local communities are the implementation of Productive Improvement Projects and diversification of production systems of pepper, Dancy mandarin, annatto, cedar, chickens, and cardamom, coffee and dairy products.


Broiler chicken Project Coffee Project

Coffee Packaging Project

Sierra Caral has PINFOR and PIMPEP projects a total of 2,261.47 hectares in the communities of Negro Norte, El Quinto, La Ceiba and Finca La Firmeza and Santa Elisa.

AMPHIBIAN’S CONSERVATION RESERVE IN SIERRA CARAL– (MORALES, IZABAL)

This Reserve has 2,299.42 hectares, was created in 2011, thanks to the support of the Banco Industrial, Global Wildlife Conservation (GWC), American Bird Conservancy (ABC), International Conservation Fund of Canada (ICFC), World Land Trust-USA, Conservation International, Biology School of the Guatemalan San Carlos University’s National History Museum, national and international donors. The Reserve is in process of being registered in order to become a Private Natural Reserve of the SIGAP (Guatemalan System of Protected Areas). Although the reserve already has facilities for visitation, investments are being made in order to improve the center of visitors and the biological station as well as implementing interpretative trails.

This reserve will preserve the largest surrounding forest of Morales municipality, and at the same time an AZE site that has worldwide significance for the presence of endangered endemic amphibians.

The Reserve has an unimaginable worldwide variety of amphibian species (frogs and salamanders), in Sierra Caral habits the most number of threatened amphibians in Guatemala. 5 species of amphibians are reported to be critically endangered which are the following: Nototriton brodiei, Cryptotriton wakei, Agalychnis moreletii, Duellmanohyla soralia, Ptychohyla hypomykter.



Duellmanohyla soralia. Photo: Robin Moore Ptychohyla hypomykter. Photo: Sean Rovito

Cryptotriton wakei. Photo: U. de Texas Agalychnis moreletii. Photo: Carlos Vásquez Almazán

There are also 5 species of endangered amphibians Bolitoglossa odonnelli, Bolitoglossa dunni, Craugastor charadra, Craugastor sabrinus, Bromeliohyla bromeliacia and 2 vulnerable species Craugastor xucanebi and Plectrohyla matudai. The 35% of the amphibian species that inhabit Sierra Caral are within some category of extinction threatened species according to the Red List of IUCN 2011.

It is important to note that among this Red List are reported 5 endemic species for Guatemala: Cryptotriton wakei, Nototriton brodiei, Bolitoglossa nympha, Craugastor charadra, Craugastor xucanebi, which represent 9% of endemism in the country. .



Bolitoglossa nympha. Photo: Joe Townsend Craugastor charadra. Photo: Petrovan Silviué