Crops grown include maize, beans, sweet potato and citrics 'malangu' and 'guicoy'. There are annual burnings of grazing areas, either before or at the beginning of the rainy season, for the regeneration of pasture lands. Research has centred on the evolution of the Mayan culture. Other studies have been conducted on the protection of the endangered ocellated turkey, sedimentation, and social sciences. Historia is leading archaeological research in the reserve.
Studies are ongoing on aquaculture, limnology and hydrology, pests and diseases, and soils.
Three hotels in Tikal provide accommodation for visiting scientists. As well as the magnificent ruins of the Maya culture, rivers, lakes, swamps and flooding savannas are important for biodiversity and for migratory birds. The reserve contains the largest area of tropical rain forest in Guatemala and Central America, with a wide range of unspoilt natural habitats. Palms, epiphytes, orchids and bromeliads are abundant. Tikal National Park is administered by the Instituto de Antropologia e Historia.