Pigmy Forest

While walking up a tropical mountain the flora starts to change. Sudenlly, the large trees that make the thick forest begin to recede and a different landspe appears. Small trees, lichen, moss and ferns in the pigmy forest act together as a massive sponge to capture moisture that, drop by drop, will give rise to streams and then rivers at the bottom of the mountains.

Recording made during my second visit to Ulcumano, a conservation project run by forestry engineer Eduardo de la Cadena near the city of Oxapampa. The Ulcumano region, a cloud forest on the Eastern side of the Central Andes, is part of the Amazon basin. Many kinds of birds and frogs populate this area, which is also the territory of the Spectacled Bear. The cycle of rain in the area is produced by the humidity carried by Atlantic winds that collides with the Andes Mountain range.