San Guillermo National Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional San Guillermo) is located in Argentina's Iglesia Department within the San Juan Province. It was created in 1998 and is part of the San Guillermo Biosphere Reserve. Heights in the biosphere range from 2,100 metres (6,900 ft) to 6,380 metres (20,930 ft). The plant life in the National Park and biosphere includes dry desert areas, grasslands, and a few wetlands, all found in the high, dry Andes. The animals living there are vicuña, guanaco, culpeo fox, Andean mountain cat, cougar, and Andean condor.

The park

The San Guillermo National Park is in the northern part of San Juan Province, Argentina, near the town of Rodeo. The park was created on January 13, 1999. It covers an area of 166,000 hectares in the high Andes and includes puna grassland and mountain peaks. It was first established as a provincial reserve in 1972 and later became the San Guillermo Biosphere Reserve in 1980. The main goal of the park is to protect the natural home of vicuñas and also preserve the other plants and animals that live in this mountain region.

Ecology

The biosphere covers an area of 981,000 hectares (2,420,000 acres). The core area is a National Park that includes dry mountain ranges without any permanent rivers or streams. The soil is mostly rocky and rough, but some areas above 3,500 meters (11,483 feet) have conditions that support steppe grasslands. The plants in the area include small shrubs that are spread out, mixed with rough grasses and plants with soft stems, and large areas of bare ground. Shrubs found here include Adesmia, Parastrephia, Fabiana, Azorella, and Ephedra. Grasses include Stipa, Calamagrostis, and Festuca. Flowering plants include Astragalus, Tropaeolum, Phacelia, and Glandularia.

The main reason for creating the biosphere reserve was to protect vicuñas. Other animals found in the reserve include guanacos, culpeo foxes, Andean mountain cats, cougars, southern viscachas, short-tailed chinchillas, Darwin's rheas, several types of ducks and geese, and Andean condors.

Research

A research project is studying cougars, the main predator in the park, by placing GPS collars on them to track their movements. At the same time, vicuñas, one of the cougars' primary prey, are also being given collars to observe their behavior. Scientists have discovered that in areas of the park with many hiding places, such as canyons and wetlands, vicuñas are more cautious and spend less time eating compared to open areas. This change affects the types of plants growing there, leading to more insects and greater variety of life. Researchers plan to place collars on some condors to learn how much they benefit from more vicuñas being killed.