Puyu Sacha (100065)
Peru, South America

Site overview

KBA status: confirmed

Global KBA criteria: A1a, A1e, B1, B2

Year of last assessment: 2023

National site name: Puyu Sacha

Central coordinates: Latitude: -12.8220, Longitude: -73.8870

System: terrestrial

Elevation (m): 894 to 4393

Area of KBA (km²): 3073.64253

KBA classification: Global

Legacy site: No

Site details

Site description: The KBA Puyu Sacha covers an area of 3073.675 sq km and it's located in Perú, within the provinces of La Mar and Huanta in the department of Ayacucho. The altitude range of the KBA is 894 - 4393 masl. The climate types present in the KBA Puyu Sacha are: 1) Rainy with dry autumn and winter, cold, 2) Rainy with dry winter, temperate and 3) Semi-dry with abundant humidity all year round, temperate. The temperature ranges from -3°C to 25°C and the annual rainfall ranges between 500 mm to 2000 mm approximately. This KBA includes the following ecosystems: "Pajonal de puna húmeda (Puna humid puna grassland)", "Bosque pluvial de Yunga (Yunga rainforest)", "Matorral andino (Andean scrub)", "Bosque estacionalmente seco interandino (Seasonally dry inter-Andean forest) - Marañón, Mantaro, Pampas and Apurímac", secondary vegetation, lakes and lagoons. The habitat is mainly high altitude grasslands with bare soil and rocky outcrops, where rockeries vegetation grow. It is cloudy most of the year. No indigenous lands or protected areas overlap the site.

Rationale for qualifying as KBA: The KBA Puyu Sacha qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that meets the thresholds for A1, B1 and B2 criteria described in the Global Standard for the Identification of KBA. The site harbors the entire known distribution of the Critically Endangered plant species Krapfia grace-servatiae, three range restricted bird species (Asthenes ayacuchensis, Atlapetes melanopsis and Grallaria capitalis) and the entire known populations of five endangered and range restricted frog species (Gastrotheca pacchamama, Gastrotheca rebeccae, Niceforonia lucida, Oreobates ayacucho, and Truebella tothastes).

Additional biodiversity: Oreobates pereger, Phrynophus sancristobali, Atelopus moropukaqumir, Metallura eupogon, Pheugopedius eisenmanni, Cranioleuca weskei, Coeligena albicaudata, Oreonympha albolimbata, Asthenes virgata, Atlapetes tricolor, Eriocnemis sapphiropygia, Glaucidium parkeri, Atlapetes forbesi, Asthenes ottonis

Manageability of the site: This site could be managed by the Regional Government of Ayacucho jointly with National Service for Natural Areas Protected by the State - SERNANP. The National Coordination Group of KBAs has a conservation promotion and monitoring committee, which is composed of various governmental and civil society institutions that will work to promote conservation actions in the KBAs.

Supersedes another site: 100065 - Chungi Rumichaca 100288 - Upper Apurímac

Other site values: Pampalca, Bramadaero e Incaraccay Peasant Communities

Delineation rationale: The Puyu Sacha KBA is delineated to encompass the ecological characteristics of the trigger species. It includes the southern limits of the proposed Mayunmarca Regional Conservation Area and was delimited by local experts in a consultation workshop. To the northeast, it crosses a tributary of the Mantaro River in the province of Huanta via the Acón River and the Piene River. It excludes the town of Machente and continues to the east in the province of La Mar crossing the Santa Rosa, Samugari and Chunchubamba rivers, and then borders the mountainous terrain starting at 2,300 masl as far as the town of Llocalla. To the west, it follows the mountainous terrain including the town of Santa Rosa de Marco to the town of Rumichaca, then follows the right bank of the Pampas River and the Torobamba River. The agricultural areas of the towns of Acsamacha and Iquicha are excluded. To the northwest it crosses the Piene River and the Chumicota River up to the Mantaro River tributary, excluding the town of San Jose de Secce.

Habitats

Summary of habitats in KBA: Andean scrubland 1-10% Puna humid grassland 50-60% Forest (montane) 30-40 % Wetlands (Lakes and lagoons) 1-10% Seasonally dry inter-Andean forest 1-10%

Threats

Threat level 1	Threat level 2	Threat level 3	Timing
Agriculture & aquaculture	Livestock farming & ranching	Small-holder grazing, ranching or farming	Ongoing
Agriculture & aquaculture			Ongoing
Biological resource use	Gathering terrestrial plants	Intentional use (species being assessed is the target)	Ongoing

Additional information

References: MINAM. (2018). Mapa Nacional de Ecosistemas del Perú. SINIA (Sistema Nacional de Información Ambiental) https://sinia.minam.gob.pe/mapas/mapa-nacional-ecosistemas-peru Castro, A., Dávila, C., Laura, W., Cubas Saucedo, F., Ávalos, G., López, C., ... & Marín, D. (2021). Climas del Perú: mapa de clasificación climática nacional. In Climas del Perú: mapa de clasificación climática nacional (pp. 70-70). https://www.senamhi.gob.pe/?p=mapa-climatico-del-peru