Poligrow

Environmental base line

Poligrow Colombia is working towards obtaining a complete, well-structured environmental base line for the biodiversity on the Hacienda Macondo property, for the purpose of performing annual monitoring on the condition of its ecosystems, and studying the possible positive and negative impacts on the area that the African palm tree crops may generate.
The study will be conducted in four phases:

Identify the main units of plant cover: riparian forests, tracts of land with mirity palms, dry savannahs, wet savannahs, wooded savannahs, and floodable savannahs.
Identify the diversity of fauna and flora for each type of plant cover: mammals, amphibians, reptiles, birds, fish, insects, and vascular plants.
Identify the main sources of water at Hacienda Macondo and analyze the quality of the water using of macroinvertebrate sampling.
Ongoing monitoring for the purpose of observing changes in the composition, diversity, and structure of the fauna and flora for each plant cover unit.

Hacienda Macondo is located in the Orinoquía region, more exactly in the Municipality of Mapiripán in the Department of Meta, in central Colombia, to the West of the Eastern Mountain Range. Its altitude ranges from 163 to 226 meters above sea level. Macondo boasts 5,680 hectares, including natural environments of savannahs, riparian forests, and tracts of land with mirity palms.

Inventories for these environments have been made using standardized Rapid Ecological Assessment (REA) methodologies aimed at focal groups of fauna and flora.

Savannahs are the environments that cover most area in Macondo; they are characterized by being dominantly grassy with bushes, trees and scattered palm trees. Based on the groundwater level of the soil and on its floral composition, four types of savannahs were identified, namely, wet savannahs, dry savannahs, savannahs with shrubs, and floodable savannas (Blyndenstein 1967).

The riparian forests and tracts of land with mirity palms are the habitats that house most of the biodiversity; they are considered corridors for the dispersal of forest biota as well as a wildlife shelter. The natural environments in this area have been impoverished by fires, coca crops, and intensive hunting; they are the habitats for endangered species of fauna and flora representative of the Orinoquía region.

Reported Results