Broad, open areas of natural grassland are also common in some
parts of the reserve, particularly in the tourist area of the reserve
(400 ha). Nevertheless, our study was restricted to the non-tourist
zone which is entirely dominated by a continuous of calden forests
without grassland areas. These semiarid forests are characterized
by hot summers and cold winters with low humidity and low
annual rainfall, typically concentrated in spring and summer (350
and 450 mm yre1; Fernandez and Busso, 1999). Habitats surrounding
the reserve consist of agricultural areas planted with
crops and perennial and annual pastures.