Forest Trail
In Uruguay native forest cover about 4% of the country’s area. Despite this relative small figure, these ecosystems harbour a large number of species. Within the Uruguayan landscape, several forests types are present: gallery forest (along watercourses), sierra forest (associated to rocky ridges), quebrada forest (within canyon-like valleys), parkland forest (open woodland with several alternative dominant species) and psamophile forest (typical of the sandy coast).
Within the Garzón Sculpture Park there are patches of sierra and gallery forest. Native vegetation is being restored through the removal of exotic species. The Forest Trail starts at a patch of sierra forest. Clumps of Anchor Plant (Colletia paradoxa) thrive along the border of the patch and serve as spiny refuges to small mammals and birds. In the center of this forest tract there is an open space with large boulders and imposing Spiny Tree Cacti (Cereus uruguayanus); in spring the place works as a natural amphitheater where the voices of many native passerines such as the Diademed Tanager (Stephanophorus diadematus), the Short-billed Elaenia (Elaenia parvirostris), the Rufous-bellied Thrush (Turdus rufiventris) and the Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus), can be heard.
Several species relationships take place in the native forest. The Dusky-legged Guan (Penelope obscura) is a highly frugivorous species that plays an important role as a seed disperser, thus contributing to forest regeneration. Epiphytes (species that grow on other plants) develop different interactions. The Air Plant (Tillandsia aeranthos), for example, is harmless to the supporting plant. The Wild Fig Tree (Ficus luschnathiana), however, slowly engulfs the tree it grows on and ultimately strangles it.