Corridors of life in the sand.

• Author: Young, Kenneth R.
• Position: Environmental conversation in Peru's Nazca region

The linking of diverse protected environments in Peru's arid Nazca region could conserve rare biological species as well as an ancient cultural treasure

Sand dunes on top of a mountain? Incredible as it seemed, that was what was indicated on our geological map of Cerro Blanco, a seventy-six hundred-foot promontory of the Andes visible from the town of Nazca in coastal Peru. Our trip to Cerro Blanco not only would bring us into contact with unique and little-known plant communities, but also would prompt us to consider a new approach to successful conservation in this part of the Americas.

The Nazca region contains the remains of thousands of years of cultural achievements. Archaeological sites are set in landscapes, some dominated by natural features, others by agriculture or modern dwellings. Nazca offers the perceptive observer a bridge between the past and the present--in its agriculture, its natural and cultural environments, and in the native biota.

The flora of Nazca and its surroundings has been little studied, although the conditions under which the plants grow appear to be typical of Peruvian coastal areas. The climate is so dry that rain gauges can sit empty all year. Available water is mostly groundwater, which flows below the riverbeds and only occasionally runs on the surface.

Over the last several years we have been carrying out a conservation survey in Peru's deserts, along with colleague Asuncion Cano, based at Lima's Natural History Museum. During three separate one-week visits, we found more than 150 plant species. Most of these grow in remnant mesquite forests, along dry riverbeds, or in agricultural fields. A much smaller assemblage of species grows on the sandy and rocky substrates of Cerro Blanco itself. The 20 or so plant species that survive there have fantastic and picturesque adaptations to their extreme environment. Also, they are found together nowhere else.

Because all landscapes have a history, it is inevitable that our story must also include the Nasca Lines, which stretch across the desert plains at the base of the Andean foothills. It is these "lines in the desert" that attract thousands of tourists to Nazca each year; some are then persuaded as well to examine some of the hundreds of other archaeological sites and features located within a few hours of town, including the ancient irrigation systems of Cantalloc.

Another archaeological site of importance is Cahuachi, located on the desert plain near the Nazca a River. According to archaeologist Helaine Silverman, Cahuachi was the ritual and spiritual center of the Nasca culture, and perhaps for neighboring peoples as well, serving as a pilgrimage site in the past millennium. Some of the Nasca Lines appear to visually connect Cahuachi to the Andean foothills. In addition, underground water rises to the surface there, providing water for drinking and...