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THE SELVA MAYA
The Maya Biosphere Reserve
Geology, Soils, and Agriculture
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A hunter from the village of Carmelita examines
spoor at a drying forest puddle.
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Soils at Tikal are generally shallow, and, though richer than some tropical soils, they are not rich by Temperate Zone standards. Soil in low-lying areas (locally known as bajos), is very deep, clay-rich, and free of rocks.
In contrast, the soil on hill slopes is much shallower, rich in limestone cobbles, lower in clay, and higher in organic matter.
Soils in the bajos are frequently waterlogged during the wet season, when water may stand chest-deep for weeks at a time, and local areas witness strong currents as the water slowly drains away. During the dry season, the very
clay-rich soil in these low-lying bajo areas cracks visibly, and plants no doubt experience drought stress, as water binds tightly to clay particles.
While farming is common in this region (mainly of corn but also beans, chili, and other crops), the highly variable rainfall makes this a marginal endeavor. Indeed, many archaeologists believe that the collapse of the Classic
Maya civilization a thousand years ago resulted from a severe drought and associated famine (Curtis et al. 1996,
1998).
Fauna
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Kentucky Warbler
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The Maya Forest region supports a tropical fauna typical of that occurring widely over the Caribbean coastal plains of Central America. Many species of plants and animals are endemic to the Yucat�n Peninsula, especially the
northern portions, occurring nowhere else on Earth. The basal portion of the peninsula, comprising our project area, is not especially rich in endemic species. In terms of the overall landscape,
however, the region is unique in many ways. The tremendous expanses of pristine and near-pristine forest here, as well as globally significant wetlands, give this region great conservation value.
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